A Wish on a Full Moon
I do not own H2O: Just Add Water or any of the characters.
Chapter 15: Young Love (part 1)
[In a large plant nursery, Elliot, Rikki, and Emma walk through the leafy jungle in search of their friend, Lewis. Rikki and Emma are both carrying boxes of stuff for him, trying to avoid getting hit by the leaves, while Elliot wanders around ahead of them, looking at the place.]
Elliot: slowly walking, he looks around. "This place is so cool."
"How? It's just a bunch of plants," Will asks. "Yeah, but the place was so big," Elliot explains, holding his arms out to show him, making his parents chuckle.
Rikki sighs, knowing how much of a mess this viewing is going to be.
Emma: she spins around, searching for him. "Lewis? Where are you?" Elliot and Rikki search along with her. Lenny, one of Lewis's older brothers, puts a hand on Emma's shoulder, startling her as she turns around. "Uh."
Lenny: points at her. "You're Emma? This way." He walks back to where he came from.
"How did he know?" Bev asks, raising an eyebrow. "I told him," Lewis explains.
"You scare easily," Ash grins; Emma rolls her eyes.
Emma: "This way Rikki." She nods in the direction he went and heads that way. Rikki follows her while Elliot stays and observes his surroundings.
"You really admired that place," Cleo smiles. "We should take him some time," Lisa suggests, whispering to her husband. Emma, overhearing, quickly turns around in her seat and looks at them, wide-eyed. "No!" Lisa jumps, surprised by her daughter's reaction. "Why?" Neil asks. She only shakes her head in reply and turns back in her seat. They stare at her, confused, then they watch the screen again, curious as to what happened.
[Lewis is working on some parts for the sprinkler system at a table in the middle of the nursery when Lenny leads them to Lewis. He turns to them.]
Lenny: "Your friends are here."
Lewis: "Guys, great. You got the stuff." He walks to the other side of the table as they sit the boxes down.
Rikki: "Yes, I hope you're going to pay us for all of this, Lewis."
"He never did," Rikki says, putting on a fake pout.
Lewis: smirks. "Only with my firm friendship."
"It still wasn't enough," Rikki jokes.
Lenny: looks around. "Is this going to work, Lewis?"
Lewis: "Sure it is, Lenny, of course."
"What is it?" Max asks. "It's an automated sprinkler system, that I made," Lewis states proudly.
Emma: points at Lenny, who was standing behind them at the table. "So, this is Lenny?"
Lewis: "Oh, what, you haven't met?"
"Only in the creepy plant woods," Emma mutters.
Lewis: "Oh, Lenny, the guys. The guys, Lenny, my brother, second oldest." They wave at each other and smile.
Charlotte stares at the screen, confused. He has a brother? He never mentioned it before.
Rikki: "How many brothers have you got?"
Lewis: "Four. But only one who would own a plant nursery."
Lenny: "And only one who would hire Lewis to fix a watering system."
"Touché," Lewis laughs, enjoying the time he had with his brother.
"Wow, that's a lot," Sam says, surprised.
Charlotte begins feeling more upset and lets out a breath. Four?! How come I never heard of them? How come he never told me?
Lewis: "Hey, you're getting a good deal here, Lenny. The whole cross-sector irrigation system will be completely automated and far superior to that ancient sprinkler system up there."
[At the mention of it, Emma and Rikki look up, seeing the mentioned sprinklers, and they glance at one another nervously.]
Emma: they begin backing away as Rikki looks up again. "Ok, well, um, seems like you two have got a lot to talk about, so we'll be heading off." They walk away; Lenny steps aside to let them through.
"They weren't going to go off, you know," Lewis mentions. "Well, you can never be too careful," Emma says.
Emma: "Elliot? Where are you?" Rikki steps forward, Emma not too far behind, when she stops and hears Elliot next to her as he comes out from a nearby bush.
Elliot: "You could hide here forever."
"You can't live there, Elliot," Lisa chuckles, but then notices her son's face full of guilt. What's wrong with them?
Rikki: "Maybe you should."
"Rikki!" Terry yells in surprise. "Don't mess with him, he's just a kid." She winces at her father's words, as Emma scowls at her mistreating her brother so easily. "I was just joking," she mutters.
Emma: Elliot sighs as Emma puts her hand on his shoulder and pushes him out. "Come on, Elliot. We've got to get you to surfing practice."
[Rikki looks at her before stopping her near the exit of the nursery, close to the storage room. Elliot keeps on walking ahead of them.]
Rikki: whispers to her. "Whoa, wait a minute. Did you say surfing?"
"What's wrong with surfing?" Harrison asks. "Oh nothing, it just involves a lot of water," Rikki sighs. "Yeah, for him. Not me," Emma mutters.
Emma: Elliot looks back at them while walking. "Yeah, Byron's teaching him. He's doing really well." She begins to leave when Rikki stops her again.
"He's got a good teacher then," Zane says, as much as he hates admitting it.
"Yeah, Mr. Hotty sure knows how to get his students to listen well," Rikki sarcastically says, Emma rolls her eyes in annoyance.
Rikki: scratches her nose and grabs Emma's arm. "That's great. But, um, aren't you forgetting something?"
"Why do you two always ask that?" Cleo asks. "Because it's an obvious mistake it seems."
Emma: smiles. "Relax. I'm not going near the water. Neither is he." She walks away from her, leaving Rikki clueless as she follows.
"But, doesn't surfing, you know, require water?" Bella asks, deeply confused. "Not for the first few lessons," Emma explains.
[At the beach, Elliot prepares for his surfing lessons on the sand, with his surfboard lying on the ground next to him. Emma and Rikki are not too far away; Emma is lying on the beach towel while Rikki stands up, taking off her shirt, uncovering her bikini, when Byron walks up to them, with his surfboard in one hand and a plastic bag in the other.]
Emma: on the towel. "The last few lessons are on the sand, no chance of getting wet."
Byron: puts the surfboard down and shows them the trash. "Revolting. Hey, Emma, the clean-up the beach rally is starting. Are you going to come?"
Emma: Rikki sits down next to her. "Oh, I forgot. Wait a sec." She smiles at him, then looks over at Rikki.
"Did you go because of him or because of the rally?" Sam asks, raising an eyebrow. "The rally," Emma blushes. "Sure, it was," Rikki says, noticing the blush.
Emma: "Can you do me a really big favor? Watch Elliot for me?" They glance at the two as Byron teaches Elliot some moves and he copies them, laying down on the board.
"You want her, watching a kid?" Zane asks in shock.
"Emma, he was your responsibility," Lisa mentions.
Rikki: looks back at her and shakes her head in disagreement. "No, no way. It's not going to happen."
Emma: "Please."
Rikki: "Sorry, I don't do kids. Just take him with you."
Byron: overhearing, he stands up and turns to them. "He needs to practice."
"Well, that's what lessons are for," Kim says, annoyed.
Emma: smirks, an idea coming to her mind. "Maybe you want to come to the clean-up the beach rally?"
"I'd rather deal with the kid," Rikki jokes, making Elliot smile.
Rikki: "No, thanks."
Emma: "Great, it's settled. Thanks, I appreciate it." She gets up to leave with Byron as he grabs his surfboard.
"Emma, you were supposed to be watching him. We told you to look out for him. Not Rikki," Neal tells her. Emma narrows her eyes in anger. Why am I the one getting scolded when she was the one who almost revealed the secret. She was the one who made him run away in the first place! "He probably wouldn't have needed saving then," Rikki mumbles.
Rikki: "Emma. I take no responsibility for anything that may or may not happen to him."
Emma: spins around, looking at her. "I trust you." They walk out of sight.
"I was wrong," Emma comments as Rikki says at the same time, "I was mistaken." Realizing what the other one meant, they both gasp, looking at one another in shock, before glaring with wide eyes. "Excuse me?!" They both say simultaneously. "Oh no," Cleo mutters, closing her eyes shut. "You didn't trust me?" Rikki says in disgust with a hurt tone. "And you were wrong about being responsible with my brother," Emma retorts, narrowing her eyes. Emma and Rikki stare at one another, glancing up and down, before settling with their anger, turning back to the screen, crossing their arms in a huff.
Elliot: "Did you know I'm going to be a pro surfer?"
Rikki: "No one said I had to talk to you."
"Really Rikki, you're going to be rude to him now?" Emma spats, glaring at the blonde. "I told you I don't do well with kids!" Rikki says, returning the glare, a frown crossing her face. "This is going to go on for a while," Lewis whispers to Cleo, who nods in agreement.
Elliot: "Watch. I'll show you." He picks up his board and runs for the waves, unknowingly unprepared for the upcoming challenge.
"Why prove her wrong? You just started, and you haven't even been in the water yet," Ash points out.
Rikki: "Elliot. Quit showing off. Elliot. Get back here." She stands up, walking closer to the water as she watches him jump on his board and paddle toward the oncoming, yet wild waves, making her worry. "I mean it, Elliot. I'll leave you here."
"Aw, you do care," Zane teases as he sees how worried she was. However, someone else seems to understand the complete opposite of what her true feelings were. "You were going to leave him?!" Emma asks, mouth gaping wide open in shock, hurt by how she thought her friend felt about her brother. "I was just trying to get him to come back!" Rikki tries to explain, gesturing towards the screen. "You were the one that left!"
"Why didn't you listen to her? You could have gotten seriously hurt if she weren't there," Lisa says to her son, extremely worried about the upcoming scene she knows will show her son's close call to death. "He shouldn't do stupid things," Kim says quietly, not wanting to make things worse for her punishment, but also with a hint of worry for her friend.
[While paddling out, Elliot gets knocked off his board by an untamed wave, Rikki quickly scans her surroundings, seeing that no one is paying attention to what was happening; all of them busy with their families, having a good time. Elliot comes up for air, coughing and struggling to keep up; his surfboard getting farther and farther away from him.]
Elliot: "Help. Someone help. Help."
His parents begin to get worried again, gripping onto their seats as they watch their son struggling to stay up, calling for help, which no one is listening to. Even though he came out alright and that this was all in the past, knowing what happened to him, they hated happening to see it for themselves.
The crowd gasps, leaning forward as they watch the little boy they have gotten to somewhat know, get himself in a tough situation, worried about what might happen, wondering how he got out of it.
"He should've listened," Kim says louder this time, joining along with the rest of the theater, concerned for her friend.
"Why didn't you help him then?" Emma hisses, questioning her friend's actions on-screen. "There were so many people around. I had to make sure no one was looking," Rikki retorts. "And I thought you didn't want me to risk revealing the secret." Emma looks at the screen helplessly, wishing she could have been there to save him, not realizing how much this makes her sound like a hypocrite.
[Rikki panics, and rushes into the water when no one is watching as Elliot gets hit by more waves, coughing from the intake, still struggling. Rikki swims quickly to the board, making sure to keep herself submerged as she pushes it over to the struggling boy.]
"Someone could have seen you!" Bella yells in shock, not meaning to sound as terrified as she did. "But they didn't," Rikki points out, sighing. "But they could have," Zane mentions, a little concerned about her secret. Rikki glances at him, a little annoyed about how he didn't understand the situation she was in at the time.
Elliot: "Help."
[Rikki pokes her head up as he grabs onto the board and pulls himself up.]
Elliot: he looks back at her while lying on his stomach. "How did you do that?"
"You were saved by a mermaid?" Denman nearly whispers in shock. But she's the most dangerous, yet, she saved him? Then again, she never did use her powers against us. Could it be that she cares more than she lets on? Like she is now?
"You didn't see her tail?" Kim asks, louder than Denman was. "No," Elliot says, looking sheepish. "We could've been so close to knowing about it before if you would've remembered the stupid diary!" Kim shouts. "I forgot," Elliot says.
Rikki: "Get on and shut up. Next time wear your leg rope." She pushes him on the board while staying under. She gives him one more hard shove and dives further down, without letting her tail be seen. He coincidentally surfs on the waves, smiling, before crashing onto the beach.
"Wow, Rikki, I'm impressed. You managed to hide your tail the whole time," Lewis says, letting a small smile slip onto his face. "Yes, but she was careless. You were too fast," Emma scolds her, returning back to her irritated feelings of the blonde who endangered their secret, and her brother. "Well, I had to hurry to save him!" she waves to the boy being discussed, who cowers lower into his seat, hating to see his sister act this way. "You could've exposed yourself!" Emma yells. "Like we already weren't," Rikki says, lowering her voice quietly, yet in a dark tone. "It was either risking the secret or let your brother drown. So why don't you shut up and just be happy that your brother is alive." Emma's blood runs cold at the thought of her brother drowning, sending shivers down her spine. She never once thought about her brother's safety, her brother's life, being on the line like that. Choosing him over the secret, made her start to regret her decision.
"Enough, you two!" Cleo shouts, getting the two mermaids' attention, along with everyone else. She sighs, before leaning over to talk to her best friends. "Alright, I'm getting tired of all the bickering, and I think everyone else can agree with me on that statement." They nod along with her comment. She points to the both of them, grabbing their attention. "Emma, according to the screen, she was being careful, and Elliot's safe. So, you should be happy about that. But Rikki, Emma is right. You should have been more careful than that. At least get some help next time; actually, let's not let there be a next time. Anyways, it's in the past, can't we just leave it there?" They glance at each other, before nodding and settled into crossing their arms once again and huffing. Cleo sighs, realizing they will not be talking to one another for a little bit.
"At least I've lived my dream," Elliot shrugs, breaking the awkward silence from afterward.
[Rikki pops her head up and smiles, glad to know that he is safe, and dives back down. On the beach, Elliot lies on his stomach next to his surfboard, where the impact caused a humongous scrape across the wet sand. He slowly sits up, looking at the waves.]
"Oh, so that's how it happened," Zane nods, finally understanding.
Zane: walking by with Nate, surfboards in their hands, stops when he notices him. "Hey, Elliot." He points to the scrapes. "What's this?"
Nate: "How'd you do that?" Elliot stands up, choosing not to respond, as he stares off into the ocean like he was in a daze. They look at one another, before leaving.
"You didn't bother asking if he needed help?" Harrison frowns. "I didn't know what had happened, and he didn't seem hurt," Zane responds.
Kim giggles. "You got sand everywhere," making Elliot blush.
"Where you looking for her?" Annette asks curiously. "Yeah," Elliot responds. "Where did you go?" "I went to Mako, to think," Rikki says.
"Thank you, Rikki," Elliot hesitantly says.
[That night at the Gilbert's house, the family members were cleaning up after eating dinner. The parents were putting away the dishes while Emma and Elliot clean off the table as Elliot recounts the drastic events from earlier that day.]
Elliot: "It was like this rip came out of nowhere. I thought I'd end up in New Zealand or something. And then, she was there." He and Emma both place some dishes onto the counter. "She saved me." He turns back to get more.
"I'm glad someone sees it that way," Rikki says, loud enough for Emma to hear, who groans in response.
Emma: "Wait a second, you saw Rikki in the water?"
Elliot: grabs some more dishes from the table and carries them to the counter. "Yeah, she was unbelievable."
"Why thank you, Elliot," Rikki grins smugly. "You were," Elliot nods.
Emma: "Really? Why?" She places cups on the counter, asking him anxiously.
Elliot: "Because she's the fastest swimmer I've ever seen. She could beat anything, even a dolphin."
"I wasn't that fast, but you're right. I could," Rikki says, letting her grin grow more. Faster than that actually, Mrs. Chatham thinks.
Emma: her concern begins to increase. "A dolphin? Elliot, what exactly did you see out there?"
"Were you worried about him, or her?" Neil asks suspiciously. "Of course, I was worried about him," Emma says. "Then why didn't you start acting like it, instead of bombarding him with all of those other questions?" Will asks. "Because I was also worried about the secret," Emma says as if it were obvious. "He's more important than a secret," Cleo reminds her. Emma sighs, but stays quiet, knowing she was right.
"I saw nothing," Elliot shrugs, breaking the awkward silence once again.
Neil: "What I want to know is what were you doing in the water in the first place?" They look at him sternly.
Elliot: looks down. "Oh, well, I –." The doorbell rings. "I'll get it." He goes to answer the door as Emma sighs.
"Because he didn't listen," Kim answers. "He was trying to impress her," Bev whispers. "Didn't work."
"Perfect timing," Bella smiles.
Elliot: unlocks the door, opening it as Rikki steps into the doorway in front of him, and he smiles. "Rikki. Where did you go? You saved me. But then you disappeared. How did you do that?"
Rikki: slowly, she shakes her head and shrugs. "I'm good at holding my breath."
"That doesn't answer his questions," Will says. "Technically I am though," Rikki points out.
Elliot: "Good? Are you kidding? You're awesome. No, wait, you're amazing. Wait, you're incredible."
Emma can't help herself but smile a little, seeing her brother adore his hero.
"Someone is star struck," Charlotte jokes. "He admires her," Annette explains, smiling about it. "It's adorable." "It was weird," Rikki says quietly, shivering.
Rikki: "Do me a favor."
Elliot: "Anything."
Rikki: waves to the inside. "Let me in."
Elliot: "You got it." He steps aside and shuts the door once she is inside. He grabs her hand and walks her to the living room. "Rikki's here."
[They stop what they were doing to look at her. Emma begins to wipe the table off as the rest of them surround Rikki.]
Neil: "Come on in, hero."
Lisa: "I believe we owe you a debt of gratitude." Rikki grimaces.
"And now it's awkward," Kim assumes. "It was too much," Rikki whines. "What was?" Lisa asks. "The compliments."
Elliot: "I was just telling them about how you saved me."
Rikki: "Oh, I wouldn't, I wouldn't call it saving." Emma, beginning to get annoyed, continues wiping the table.
"Then what would you call it?" Zane asks. "Helping a friend," she answers. "Friend? I'm your friend?" Elliot asks in surprise. "Well, we have been through a lot, small fry, so I guess so," Rikki chuckles upon seeing Elliot brighten up. Even Emma managed a small smile.
Lisa: "Ha ha, modest as well as brave." She hugs Rikki and smiles.
Elliot: "Oh, she's the fastest swimmer in the world."
Rikki: waves it off. "He's exaggerating."
"Not one bit," Denman mutters.
Neil: "Nonsense." Emma huffs. "What you did was nothing short of magnificent." He pats her on the shoulders.
"You clearly were not comfortable with all of that," Bella says. "Why?" Lisa asks, still confused by the blonde's actions. Rikki hesitates before slowly answering her question. "I'm, not used to getting compliments. Or being praised. I don't like it." Emma scoffs, thinking she was lying.
Emma: quits wiping the table. "Rikki, can I talk to you for a second, in private?" They all look at her as she shoves Rikki away from them and up the stairs.
"Jealous?" Lewis assumes. "No."
"You know, you would've done the same thing if you were in her position at the time, with what happened to Elliot," Cleo whispers to her, causing Emma to take in a deep breath, thinking about it.
[Emma opens the door to her room with her hand on her hip, looking deeply irritated as she lets Rikki walk past her into the room.]
Rikki: "What?"
Emma: checks the hallway, then slowly walks in, and closes the door, the irritation in her face increasing as she narrows her eyes at Rikki. "You take a swim, and you ask me what."
"She didn't take a swim, she saved your brother," Sam reminds, making Emma feel a little guilty.
Rikki: "You left me to babysit. I did the job." She spins around and walks to the other side of the room, sitting on the bed. Emma gives her a displeased look, arms crossed. "Next time let someone else clean up the world while you look after him yourself."
"Like she was supposed to in the first place," Neil mutters.
Emma: "Don't worry. I will." After a few seconds, she lets her scowl fall and gets nervous. "Did he, you know, see anything?"
"I wish," Elliot and Kim say together.
Rikki: "Other than when I, flashed him?" She tilts her head. Emma's eyes widen as her jaw drops. Rikki chuckles. "Lighten up. He doesn't suspect a thing."
They laugh at her little prank. "Don't scare me like that," Emma sighs, finally talking to the other blonde. "He saw nothing," she reminds her.
Emma: throws her hands up in frustration and looks back, then at her. "But why is he out there raving about how you could outswim a dolphin."
Rikki: "He's exaggerating. I was careful. I made sure he didn't see anything. I'm not stupid, Emma."
"If he knew the truth and remembered the diary, he wouldn't be," Kim pouts.
I didn't say that, Emma thinks.
Emma: unfolds her arms and throws them to the side, sighing, she gets on the bed. "I didn't mean that. It's just that, finding out we're mermaids would be huge for Elliot."
"Pretty sure it would be huge for anyone," Bella chuckles.
Rikki: nods as if it were obvious. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure it would be huge for anyone."
"Called it," Bella smiles.
"It was huge," Elliot admits.
Emma: "You don't understand. We've never had secrets. This would be like one massive lie to him. He'd never be able to handle it."
Elliot counts on his fingers to answer her remark. "Well, you did have a secret, it might have been a huge lie, but I was able to handle it." He looks back up at her, smirking. "You were wrong."
Rikki: grins. "Funny that. People who grew up in perfect families seem to have that problem." She shrugs. "They can't handle anything."
[Emma stares at her, then looks away, sighing; letting the tension go.]
Terry's smile falters, hearing that they were not a perfect family, he wasn't going to lie and say that it did not hurt him. Cleo looks down, knowing that hers was not, especially ever since her mom left.
[A little bit later, Elliot lies on the floor of the living room in between the couches, with a racecar and a box of chocolates next to him. He is currently writing on a card.]
Elliot: on the card. "Dear Rikki, you are my hero."
The theater awes at the sight, unable to resist the cuteness of it. Rikki blushes but feels guilty for never reading the card he gave her.
[During this, back in Emma's room, the mermaid trio walks in with Rikki taking the lead as Cleo talks to her.]
Cleo: "I understand you took a calculated risk, Rikki." They glance at Emma, who shuts the door and walks over. "But, wow, we can't risk turning into mermaids on a public beach." Emma walks closer, crossing her arms, as Cleo glances back at her.
Rikki: holds arms out wide. "Elliot's home safe. There is no drama. Can we please drop this?" She walks to Emma's desk.
"There is now," Charlotte says. In here at least, Cleo thinks, looking at her two best friends, who are currently still a little upset with each other.
Emma: she and Cleo climb onto the bed, books lying at the end of it, sitting crisscross. "Just be careful next time."
Rikki: "I'm always careful, mom." She leans back against Emma's desk with her hands, which accidentally knocks over a glass of water onto her homework assignment, surprisingly not getting any on her as she quickly backs up.
"Again, with the perfect timing," Bella winces. The others try not to laugh, feeling bad that her hard work got ruined.
Her mom, again? Terry thinks, feeling a little worried about her.
Emma: looks at it in shock, along with the others. Cleo winces. "My Geography assignment, Rikki, I was almost finished. It took me hours."
Rikki: picks up the glass, shocked by Emma's statement, who attempts to blow at it. "We only got that assignment yesterday. And you're almost done."
"Hours?" Will asks, stunned, it never takes me that long with homeschooling. "How long does your homework usually take?" Bella asks. "A long time," Rikki complains. Great. A place I definitely hope I don't move to next. Although, dad hasn't said where we were moving to next, yet.
"You started that quick?" Zane asks surprised. "I don't like to procrastinate," Emma shrugs.
Cleo: "She was almost done."
Emma: looks over at Rikki annoyed. "Thanks to you I'll have to start from scratch."
"I tried to help," Rikki mutters.
[Rikki grabs a few tissues from her tissue box next to the glass and dabs the assignment.]
Emma: "No, don't, you'll blur it." She leans over and stops her.
Rikki: stops and puts the tissues down. "Ok, wait." She breathes in and holds her hand out, slowly drying the water out of the paper.
"Problem solved," Don says. "Not exactly," Cleo winces.
Rikki: looks away, at them, smiling. "See, no need to stress." Emma and Cleo look at it, the latter grinning. Rikki looks back and then her eyes widen, realizing she distracted herself, as she accidentally clenches her first and uses too much heat, causing the paper to have burn marks all over. She lifts her hand away and the other two turn to look at it in shock. Cleo grimaces. "Oops."
"Wow," Kim winces. "Well now you'll definitely have to start from scratch," Ash says, feeling bad for her.
"So, you can use too much power? You can control how much you use?" Denman asks. "Yeah. At the time we couldn't, but we eventually figured it out," Cleo shrugs.
Rikki finally decides to break the bitter silence between her and Emma. "I'm, sorry Emma, about your homework" she sighs with an apologetic look. Emma turns to her, surprised, seeing that she genuinely means it. Emma, finally agreeing to break it as well, smiles while nodding. "It's okay. And besides, it gave me a chance to fix my mistakes." "Finally," Cleo huffs, glad that they gave in, somewhat at least.
Emma: clenches her jaw and looks at her. "Oops?"
Rikki: "It was an accident."
Cleo: "Wait, maybe I can reverse it, put some water molecules back in." She holds her hand out as all of them watch. Unfortunately, it just ends up making it puffy and damp, no longer somewhat readable. It was Rikki's turn to grimace. "Um, oops."
"That made it way worse," Will says.
"Have you ever tested it again after you learned control?" Max asks, curious if she could. "No, not yet," Cleo says. "Reminds me of you three, when you all tried learning control," Max whispers to Mrs. Chatham.
Denman watches the movements carefully, trying to understand what their limits are. There is so much to learn.
Better than my mistakes, and allergies, Bella chuckles.
Emma: "Cleo."
Cleo: wraps an arm around Emma's shoulders. "We're all still learning how to use our powers, Em."
Emma: "Then we've all got to get better, fast."
"Agreed," Bev says. "And the new ones too," Lewis whispers, reminding the girls, who sigh in annoyance.
[Someone knocks on Emma's door and they turn to look at it.]
Emma: "Yeah, come in." The door opens and Elliot comes in; she smiles.
Elliot: "Hi." He walks in with his hands behind his back. "Rikki, this is for you." He holds out the card, the other hand still behind his back. Rikki walks over.
"That's so sweet," Annette smiles. "Too sweet," Rikki mutters, making Emma roll her eyes, not understanding why she didn't like it.
Emma: "Oh, Elliot, that's so nice. Isn't it nice, Rikki?" Giving her a look.
"You think I didn't know it was nice?" Rikki asks. "You sure didn't act like it." Rikki scoffs. Please don't go back to arguing, Cleo pleads.
Rikki: grimaces and accepts the card. "Yeah, that's, that's great. Thanks." She taps the card against her palm, looking at it.
"Did I make you uncomfortable?" Elliot asks. "No, it's just. Well, do you remember that talk we had in the nursery?" Elliot nods. "It's that," she reminds him. Elliot nods again in realization. Emma glances between the two, deeply confused. What did they talk about? She wasn't the only one, as her parents look at each other, shrugging.
Elliot: "Do you want to come play with my new 3-D skate game?"
Emma: "She'd love to."
"No, I don't," Rikki admits. "Don't answer for her," Zane defends her, confusing Emma and Cleo.
Rikki: slowly answers. "Uh, except that, I have to be somewhere, right about now actually." She looks at her watch then begins to leave. "Sorry. See ya."
"Where?" Terry asks. "Just an excuse, dad."
Elliot: turns to stop her. "Wait." She spins around and he holds out his other hand, revealing a box of chocolates. "I got you these as well." Emma and Cleo glance at one another, the former gets up from the bed, walking over.
"Extra sweet," Charlotte comments, remembering her mother's earlier one. "So adorable!" Sam smiles.
"So that's where you got them," Terry realizes, remembering when she brought them home.
Rikki: takes it. "Oh, chocolate, yum. Thanks."
Elliot: "They're the best ones I could find. I used all my savings. And I hope you like the soft centers." Emma places her hands on his shoulders and Rikki makes a face and brushes her hair behind her ear. "If you don't, I can take them back."
Rikki: "No, no, soft centers are fine. Thanks."
"How can you not love that sweetness," Bella whines. "When it's coming from a kid, it's really weird," Rikki shivers.
Emma: "Elliot, can I talk to you for a minute?"
Elliot: "Sure." He looks up at her, grinning. "Don't go away." Rikki smiles, but when they walk out the door, it falters.
Elliot begins feeling bad for making her uncomfortable, although understands her reason why.
[Downstairs, Elliot and Emma walk into the entryway with her hand on his back.]
Emma: "Elliot, what's going on with you and Rikki?"
Elliot: "Don't worry. I promise our love won't get in the way of your friendship."
Zane spits out his drink that he was drinking from, coughing for air. Harrison chuckles at the reaction, knowing his son still had feelings for her.
"Love?! No way!" Rikki shouts. "That's over the line!" "Rikki, calm down," Emma says, getting annoyed once again. "You try dealing with it!" she continues shouting. "What's the big deal anyways? He's just a kid." Rikki hesitates before answering, speaking quietly for only Emma to hear. "I never grew up with dealing with stuff like this. No one was ever kind to me, no one was ever sweet like he was, only my dad. Getting it now, I wasn't used to it. It felt so weird, I can't handle that." Emma leans back, staring at the blonde, starting to get the idea of it, and feeling bad for how she reacted with the whole thing as well. "I'm sorry, for meddling. It wasn't my business," Emma says. "It's alright. I got a feeling it's going to be revealed in this anyways," Rikki sighs.
"Well, I won't have to worry about him taking you out late at night, will I?" Terry jokes. "Dad! Don't condone this!"
Emma: she halts in the entryway before gesturing towards the living room. "Come on. Let's sit." They walk over to the couch and sit down. "Elliot, Rikki's not like the girls you go to school with. She's not the one for you. She's older, and more mature, kind of."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Rikki says, raising an eyebrow. "Well, you're … different," Emma shrugs. "And fifteen," Lewis points out.
Elliot: shrugs. "Some of us men like that in a woman." Emma looks away, sighing.
Rikki covers her face, trying to resist the urge to scream. "You're not a man!" Kim shouts. "She's too old for you, buddy," Ash says.