Chapter Eight - Artistic Endeavors

It was now nearly two weeks since the chaotic crystal incident, and the girls were making steady progress in their training. Having now hit the five second mark, it was time for the real deal—using their powers. As Bella previously predicted, Cleo and Rikki had a somewhat easier time accessing the powers since they already managed to do so on their own.

Bella: "Wow, I'm honestly impressed. It's only been three days, and you guys are doing pretty great with your telekinesis. Especially you, Emma."

Emma: "I've been looking forward to this for so long, since it means that I'll finally be able to dry myself on my own."

Bella: "It must be tedious getting out of the bath, huh?"

Emma: chuckles "You have no idea. It normally takes me nearly three minutes to dry off. Now I'm done in only a couple of seconds!" looks at her crystal "This seriously so convenient!"

Lewis: "You don't say. What about you, Cleo?"

Cleo: "It's not as hard as I thought it would be, mostly because it doesn't feel all that different from my molding abilities."

Lewis: "I guess that makes sense, since your power is the most flexible."

Rikki: "So when are we going to move on to invisibility?"

Bella: "Mmm… I'd say in a couple of days? I want you guys to practice your telekinesis a bit more. But for the invisibility, I want you guys to get to the one or two second mark before that."

Rikki: "Seriously? You made such a big deal about us getting to five seconds, now you're adding more conditions?"

Lewis: "Mmm… not a bad idea."

Cleo: "How come?"

Lewis: "Well, if someone's about to see you, five seconds, even if it seems like a really short time, might be too long to turn invisible."

Bella: "Exactly. The sooner, the better. Taking too long will just put you at a bigger risk of being seen."

Rikki: sighs "Okay… fine by me."

Lewis: looks at Bella's necklace "Hey guys, I've been thinking… don't you think that it's time to make some jewelry?"

Cleo: "Jewelry?"

Lewis: "Yeah, like Bella's. Carrying the crystal in your pockets… there's a good chance that it could get lost. Plus when you transform..."

Cleo: gasps "Oh, yeah! Great idea, Lewis! Why didn't I think of that?! But we already have the lockets, so what should we make?"

Emma: "Why don't we do something like what the mermaids had in the book? You know the bracelet, ring…"

Rikki: "Rings! That's it! We already have matching lockets and now matching rings! What do you guys think?"

Emma: "Sounds good to me. But the crystals are a little big. Won't they be a bit too flashy?"

Cleo: "What about ring bands? Bella can change the shape of the crystal."

Rikki: "Ring bands? You make us sound like sister wives, Cleo."

Cleo: "I can already picture it in my mind! It's going to turn out great! Why don't we try it out tomorrow after school?"

Bella: "Why not start right now? Since I'm not performing today, I can help you guys with sketching the rings."

Cleo and Rikki unconsciously furrow their eyebrows

Bella: "What was that just now? That look between the two of you."

Cleo: "Oh, uh, it's just that—"

Rikki: "A certain crazy, former mermaid was also really good at art, not that we're comparing you to her."

Bella: "Uh-huh… are you guys still bugged by her?"

Rikki: "Easy for you to judge. You're not the one who almost lost her tail."

Bella: "I wasn't—"

Rikki: "Well, it sure sounded like—"

Emma: "Enough, Rikki."

Lewis: "Emma's right. You can't keep letting everything that reminds of Charlotte get under your skin like that. Plus, she's harmless now."

Cleo: "And even if she tried to out us, she'd just draw negative attention to herself as well."

Rikki: sighs and rolls her eyes "Whatever… see you guys at the cafe." dives into the moonpool

Bella: "I'm going to sound like a broken record but, is she always like this?"

Lewis: sighs "Pretty much. Rikki wouldn't be Rikki if she wasn't rough around the edges every now and then."

Cleo: "But don't let it get to you. She… has her soft side too."

Bella: "Right… So are we done here? Should we get going?"

Emma: "Yeah, I think so. Cleo?"

Cleo: "See you soon, Lewis." dives into the moonpool

Bella and Emma: waves and dives after Cleo

Now on her feet, a grumpy Rikki mindlessly made her way down the beach. Reaching into her pocket, she briefly panicked as she couldn't find her phone, only to feel a little dumb after remembering that it was in Lewis' boat, along with the others. Sighing in frustration, she continued trudging along, this time picking up the pace in response to the intense summer's heat that bore down on her face. It wasn't long till Rikki spotted a somewhat familiar face waving in her direction, and as he got closer, she realized that it was Will, jogging down the beach, shirtless. The sight of his body made her blush slightly, then laugh, upon remembering that Bella, although she tries to keep her cool, tends to act all giddy and bubbly whenever she's around him.

Will: "Hey, Rikki. Is Bella around?"

Rikki: "No, she's… with Cleo and Emma. They're heading to the cafe. Should be there in a minute or two."

Will: "Oh, cool. It's just that I've been trying to get a hold of her, and… nothing. That's been happening a lot lately."

Rikki: "What has?

Will: "Me texting or calling her to no avail. Then her responding like… an hour later. I know that—"

Rikki: "What is she, your girlfriend? The girl's probably busy. You don't know what she's up to!"

Will: "We're just friends, Rikki. And it's not just once in a while—it happens almost every single time I call her lately. Look, I don't even expect her to pick up right away, but that was hardly ever the case back when she lived in Ireland."

Rikki: "Bella's a big girl who has a part-time job now, Will. You're probably overthinking things."

Will: "Yeah, maybe. So could you pass on the message to her?"

Rikki: "Yeah, sure. Why not?"

Will: "Thanks, Rikki." continues jogging

Rikki: sighs and looks at Will "Boys… and they say girls are clingy." continues walking

After parting ways with Rikki, Will's regular afternoon jogging went on for another two minutes, finally stopping for a much needed break at the end of the beach. And in the midst of quenching his thirst, a couple of familiar voices from behind the rocks caught his attention.

Bella: "So we're meeting at Mako tomorrow, right?" lifts water off herself

Emma: "Mmm… how about my place? It's way too hot over there."

Cleo: lifts water off herself "I'm with Emma on this. Plus we don't have to sneak around since her parents know about—"

Will: "Bella? Is that—"

Cleo: whispering "Oh, no! What is he doing here?" lifts water offEmma

Emma: whispering "Bella, did you tell—"

Bella: whispering "What? No! Of course not—"

Will: "Bella? What are you guys—"

Bella: "Stay where you are, Will. I'm—" bumps into him "Didn't I just say to stay where you are?"

Will: drops his water bottle "Is this some sort of secret meeting?"

Bella: "No, just… some place where we like to hang out… away from the crowds…"

Cleo: "Yeah… the beaches are packed this time of the year with tourists."

Emma: "And we were just showing Bella our favorite spot."

Will: looks around "Well, I can see why you guys like it here so much." picks up his bottle

Bella: "Still clumsy as ever, I see."

Will: "Yeah, no thanks to you." spots something glimmering nearby in the sand "What… is that?" walks up to it "A piece of glass?" picks it up

Bella: peers over his shoulders "What are you—" whispers "Oh, no."

Will: looks up "Hmm? Did you say something?"

Bella: "Oh, uh… just that it could be uh… glass?"

Will: "No… I don't think so. Maybe some type of crystal?"

Bella: "What about clear quartz? That could be it."

Will: "No, the texture's all weird. Like something between glass and crystal." Cleo and Emma exchange confused looks between each other "Also it looks like hardened epoxy resin.

Bella: "So it's not that either? Are you sure?"

Will: picks it up "Yes, I have a piece home, and it doesn't look or feel the same. The weight and texture—"

Bella: furrows her eyebrows "When did you become a geologist?"

Will: "When I started collecting odd rocks and seashells. But you would know that if we hung out more often."

Bella: chuckles "And just when did you become my girlfriend?"

Will: sighs and laughs "Rikki said the same thing to me ear—"

Emma: "Uh guys, I don't want to interrupt, but can we get going?

Bella: "Oh, my bad! Sure, let's go."

Cleo: looks at Will and Bella walking ahead "So, Em… when do you think those two are gonna finally start dating?"

Emma: "I don't know, but I think a lot sooner than we think. Hey, wanna bet on it?

Cleo: furrows eyebrows and laughs "I think that's Rikki's line."

Emma: "Then we'll include her. I'm sure she has her own predictions."

Cleo: laughs "Of course she does. I think she's lowkey shipping them too."

Emma: "By the way, didn't you notice that Bella was acting nervous earlier when Will found the crystal?"

Cleo: "Yeah, I was wondering what that was all about. She said that it was clear quartz, but Will said that it wasn't and that it felt—"

Emma: "Strange…?" gasps "Wait a minute, that sounds a lot like—"

Cleo: "Bella's power? When did she—.

Emma: Why would she leave a piece of her crystal behind like that knowing how unusual it is?"

Cleo: "It must have been an accident. Bella's more experienced than us. She's most likely a lot more careful than us with the whole mermaid thing."

Emma: "You're right. Plus most people would never connect the dots unless they already know about mermaids and our powers."

Cleo: "Yeah, but we do need to talk to Bella about this."

Will: "This is so cool." turns the crystal around in his hand "But also unlike anything I've ever seen."

Bella: "So what is it? Strange or cool?"

Will: "That's exactly what makes it so cool… its uniqueness. Maybe it's some type of rare crystal?" Bella smiles and blushes slightly "You guys hang out there often, right? Have ever seen—"

Bella: "Uh, no… but I'll let you know if I come across more. So you don't have to come here yourself."

Will: "You don't have to do that, I have more free time since Sophie's cut down on training days now that school's open."

Bella: "Yeah, I know, it's just that this crystal's pretty rare as you said, so… maybe I can keep an eye out for it instead of you coming all the way here."

Will: laughs "Well, when you put it that way, I guess that I don't have much of a choice to take you up on your offer."

Bella: "Cool. By the way, I thought you were off today, so why aren't you relaxing?"

Will: "I can't fully relax just yet, Bella. Not until the diving competition's over."

Bella: "I'm sure you'll do just fine. No need to push yourself so hard."

Will: "Fine isn't good enough for me."

Bella: chuckles

Will: "So, I'm off again tomorrow. Do you want to—"

Bella: "Tomorrow…? Oh, no. I… have that thing to do with the girls—. Oh, what about the day after—"

Will: "Tough luck. I'm training that day."

Bella: "You see, it's not that I don't want to hang out with you it's just that—"

Will: "I get it. Our busy schedules don't allow for it." looks at Bella "Hey…" pokes her in the arm "No need to pout, we'll work something out."

Bella: "Huh? I wasn't pouting?"

Will: "You're right. But you're blushing, though."

Bella: reaches for her face "B-blushing—" Will starts laughing "Will!" crosses her arms "Ugh, you're enjoying this, aren't you."

Will: chuckles "Yeah, why wouldn't I." looks at Bella "So do you guys have any other favorite spots?"

Bella: "No… what made you say that?"

Will: "I didn't mean to eavesdrop but I could've sworn I heard you say something about meeting at Mako? Even though you were worried about me diving there? What was that all about?"

Bella: "Oh, umm… Cleo and the others like to go there sometimes. It's… quiet there. I just sit on the shore with Cleo while Emma and Rikki go swimming."

Will: "So Cleo's not a fan of water either?"

Bella: "No… she isn't."

Rikki: turns around "What took you guys so long?"

Cleo: "Uh… just a little hold up at the beach…" looks at Bella and Will sitting at the booth

Rikki: "Huh? Did they finally confess—"

Emma: "What? No. Though Cleo and I thought it would be fun to guess when that will happen."

Rikki: "Oh, count me in. I say… mmm… in the next… three months. What's your guess?"

Emma: "I think by June or July."

Cleo: "Same as Emma."

Rikki: "Alright then, I guess we have ourselves a bet." shakes hands with Cleo and Emma "But what's the prize?"

Emma: shrugs "I don't know. We'll think of something when the time comes."

Rikki: "So… what was the real hold up?"

Emma: "Let's go into the office for this."

Rikki: "What?! Bella did what?!"

Cleo: "Calm down Rikki, Will didn't see us."

Rikki: "I know, I'm talking about her powers. Why would she just leave a piece of it behind like that?"

Emma: "It must've been an accident."

Rikki: "Okay, but what if he keeps coming back there to see if he finds more. This is our secret spot where we change."

Cleo: "She has a point, Emma."

Emma: "I get it, we'll have to be even more careful from now on."

Rikki: "So are we just going to leave it with Will?"

Cleo: "Yeah, what other choice do we have? You can't melt it—"

Rikki: "But Bella can revert it back to water, right? Why not make her do that?"

Emma: "Will's her friend, Rikki. That's not something she might be willing to do."

Rikki: "Our secret comes first, Em. So she's going to have to choose."

Emma: "Fine, we'll talk to her later."

Cleo: "Okay, so now that that's been decided, why don't we start working on the ring's design?"

Rikki: starts searching Zane's desk "Here, use this." hands her a book and pencil

Emma: peers over Cleo's shoulder "So what do you have in mind?"

Cleo: "Uh…" scribbling "Something… like… this." turns the book to Emma and Rikki

Rikki: "Umm… I think you should've left the sketching to Bella."

Emma: "Well… it's a start." squints "Is that supposed to be the crystal in the middle?"

Cleo: looks at Rikki "See? Emma gets it. And yes, it is."

Emma: "And the rest is what? Silver?"

Cleo: nods "Yep."

Rikki: "Sounds nice and all, but where are we going to get that?"

Cleo: "We don't need actual silver, we can just mix silver metallic powder with water and then have Bella harden it."

Rikki: "Hmm… cool. But I'd like to see a final draft from Bella first."

On their way to school, Emma brought up the previous day's incident regarding Will and Bella's power.

Emma: "We didn't have a chance to talk about it yesterday since you left so early, but the crystal that Will found, it's yours, isn't it."

Bella: "Oh, I already took care of that. Well, sort of."

Emma: "So did you change it back to water?"

Bella: No, I told him that he didn't need to go there looking for crystals anymore and that if I found any, I'd collect it for him."

Emma: "Why did you leave it with him?"

Bella: "I figured doing that will make him want to search for it even more. You know, to replace the one that magically turned to a puddle of water. That'll just make him more curious if anything."

Emma: "And you're sure that he'll listen to you? That he won't be lurking over there? Because there's always the chance that he could see us."

Bella: "Yes, Emma. I'm sure of it. I know Will. When he gives me his word on something, he really isn't the type to go against it."

Emma: sighs "I guess I'm just gonna have to trust you on this. But good luck convincing Rikki."

Bella: "The fiery mermaid, huh?" chuckles "Was it her idea to have this talk with me?"

Emma: "Yeah, she's just concerned that we'll get found out. We've already had something similar happen before."

Bella: "Really? When?"

Emma: "A couple of months after we changed. It was a marine biologist. Luckily we were able to fool her by giving up our powers for 12 hours."

Bella: "So you guys know about the lunar eclipse too?"

Emma: "Yeah, Ms. Chatham told us about it. Although she made us believe that it was permanent. I'm surprised that you know about it, too."

Bella: "At least you had someone tell you beforehand. I had to find out the hard way. I started crying so much when my tail disappeared, thinking that it was gone forever."

Emma: "Better than entering the moonpool during the fifty-year full moon."

Bella: laughs "You're right. I'm glad I won't have to worry about that for another forty-nine years."

Lisa: "Emma, you're home early. And I see you've brought company."

Rikki: "Hi Mrs. Gilbert."

Bella: "Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Bella."

Lisa: "Oh, I know all about you. Emma's told me everything."

Bella: "Did she also tell you what we plan on doing here today?"

Lisa: furrows eyebrows and looks at Emma

Emma: "Sorry, mom. It slipped my mind, but we're making matching rings today out of the crystals."

Lisa: tilts her head "Really? How?"

Elliot: "Did you say that you're making rings? That's so cool! Can I watch?"

Emma: "Yeah, Sure. But we can't start yet. Cleo and Lewis are out buying silver metallic powder."

Lisa: "Silver metallic powder? How do you plan on making a ring with that?"

Emma: "It's a surprise. You'll see."

Bella: "Elliot, is it? Do you want to see my powers in the meantime? I'm sure Emma's shown you hers."

Elliot: "Really? Can I see yours too, Rikki?"

Rikki: "Yeah. Why not."

The next fifteen minutes passed by pretty quickly, with Bella and Rikki both entertaining and bewildering Elliot and Mrs. Gilbert with their abilities. However, their little show and tell was cut short by a couple of knocks at the door.

Emma: "I'll get it. That must be them." opens the door "Hey, did you guys get it?"

Lewis: walks in "Yep!" pulls out the jar

Emma: "Great! Let's get started!"

With this, Emma went to the kitchen and filled a small glass bowl with water and slowly started mixing in the silver metallic powder. Feeling satisfied with its appearance, she then gestured for Bella to turn it into jelly first, just as Lewis suggested to them earlier. This drew out a couple of barely audible gasps from both Mrs. Gilbert and Elliot, even though they witnessed Bella's powers not too long ago.

Emma: "Mom, are you guys going to react like this everytime we use our powers?"

Lisa: "This might be normal for you Emma, but it's still new to us."

Eilliot: "Wow, it almost looks like real silver!"

Rikki: "Yeah, so far, so good."

Bella: "So who's ring are we going to make first?"

Cleo: "I think it should be Emma. I mean, she needs it more than any of us since we can dry off on our own."

Bella: "Ready, Emma?"

Emma: "Yeah."

As instructed, Bella and Cleo shared a knowing look, prompting the latter to take a small piece of jelly which was immediately hardened by Bella. Next was the molding—first, Bella hardened two much smaller pieces which she flattened out into thin rings. Next was molding the main body of the ring to match the size of Emma's index finger.

Bella: "Is this okay?"

Emma: slides it up and down her finger "No… it's a little to loose…" Bella tightens it "No, too tight. Make it a little looser… Okay, stop there!" tests out the ring "Great, just right."

Bella: "Are you satisfied with the thickness? It's not too big or chunky, is it?"

Emma: "Nope, it's perfect."

Bella: "Great, now I need to make the two small pieces match the larger one."

Lewis: "Don't forget to make sure it extends outwards slightly more than the main body."

Bella: "Yeah, I'm already on it. Okay, does that look right?"

Lewis: "Seriously, this is so impressive Bella."

Cleo: "Yeah, it's coming together so well."

Bella: "I'm glad to hear that. Now, I just need you to smear some of the jelly on the top and bottom of the ring so I can join the thinner rings to it.

Rikki: "So the water acts as a glue to connect the three pieces?"

Lewis: "Yeah, sort of like welding metal together. If we were using that, we'd have you use your powers."

Bella: "Yes. Now, first I'll take a small bit and spread it around evenly… okay, good… now I just have to line up the smaller piece…" hardens the jelly "Great!" inspects the ring "And now for the other one" repeats the process "Cool, it's starting to look like an actual ring. Now for the tricky part. Emma?" takes the crystal from Emma

Elliot: "You can control earth and crystals, right? Is that how you're going to fit the crystal in the ring?"

Bella: "Yes."

Lisa: "So why do you look nervous? Is it hard?"

Bella: "I'm worried about accidentally releasing the energy in the crystal. I'm sure Emma's told you about that, right?"

Lisa: "Okay, just… be careful."

With the ring in one hand, Bella used her free one to carefully levitate the crystal in the air, bringing it closer to the ring. She then slightly curled up her fingers in order to reduce the crystal's mass so that it could fit perfectly in the open space of the ring. Now it was time to flatten the crystal. To accomplish this, Bella simply closed the distance between her hand and the ring, as if she was pushing against an invisible barrier. A small smile formed across her face as Bella proceeded to stretch the flattened crystal to fill in the rest of the ring band.

Bella: "Finally! All done." holds up the ring "Wow, I really outdid myself with this." hands the ring to Emma

Lewis: "Looks like you have a future as a jeweler."

Rikki: "It looks great, but I can't help feeling like it's missing something."

Emma: "Rikki's right. Not that I'm complaining, you did a great job! But something's…off."

Cleo: "Mmm… how about putting a thin layer of glass over the crystal?"

Emma: "Yes! I think that's it! What do you think, Bella?" puts some water into a bowl

Bella: turns the water into jelly, spreads a thin layer over the crystal, then hardens it "Oh, wow. You guys were right. This does look much better. Here you go Emma."

Emma: puts on the ring "It's perfect! This would've been impossible without you, Bella."

Bella: "Hey, I'm just happy to help out. This is exciting for me too."

Lewis: "And it only took a little over five minutes. You definitely have a future in jewelry making, Bella."

Lisa: "Amazing! If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you bought this from an antique store."

Elliot: "You guys are awesome! Is there anything that you can't do?"

Rikki: shrugs "Grow wings, among other things. Unfortunately we can only turn into a half fish."

Elliot: "And that's still the best thing ever, right?"

Cleo: "It was a little rough in the beginning, but I would trade it for the world."

Bella: claps "Okay, one ring down. Three more to go."

Emma: "Three? So you changed your mind?"

Bella: "Yeah, this necklace means a lot to me since my grandpa's the one who made it. But a ring's more convenient for when I'm swimming and I really like how it turned out."

Lewis: "That's great to hear. So, who's next?"

Rikki: raises her hand "Me, obviously."

Lewis: looks at Cleo

Cleo: "It's fine, Lewis. The rings are going to get done either way."

Zane: "Hey, Rikki. Are you guys already done?"

Rikki: smiling with her hands behind her back "Yep! Wanna see it?"

Zane: "Of course I do! Come on now, don't keep me waiting."

Rikki: flashes the ring "Awesome, right?"

Zane: "Awesome is an understatement. You girls did that on your own?"

Rikki: "Bella did most of the work, with some help from Cleo."

Zane: holds her hand "I absolutely love that it matches your eyes so perfectly."

Rikki: smiling "Well aren't you the romantic prince charming."

Zane: smirks "What can I say? It's a Bennett thing."

Miriam: glances at Rikki "Nice ring… you two aren't planning a shotgun wedding, are you?"

Rikki: "No, and what if we are? It's none of your business."

Miriam: "I never said it was. I'm just making an innocent observation."

Rikki: "If you don't—"

Zane: "Rikki, come on. Ignore her. Don't you have anything better to do, Miriam?"

Miriam: "Don't mind me, I was just…" sees Bella, Cleo and Emma's rings "...leaving." scoffs "Matching rings, huh? Did you guys get a three-for-one special at a thrift store?"

Zane: sees Rikki silently fuming "Enough, Miriam."

Miriam: scoffs "Whatever… let's go Tiffany." leaves

Rikki: "You need to keep your ex-girlfriend in check."

Zane: throws his hands up in the air "She was never my girlfriend, Rikki!"

Rikki: "That doesn't stop her from sticking her nose where it doesn't belong!"

Zane: "I'll talk to her, okay? Just stop letting her get under your skin." hugs her

Rikki: "Okay, fine…" hugs him back

Cleo: "Hey, Rikki! We're heading out for a swim. Wanna come?"

Rikki: "Sorry, not today. I have to help Zane here."

As the girls head out, a certain redhead girl overhears their excited conversation about Mako, and who would get there first.

Charlotte: "So she's one too, huh? I'm not surprised, she's always hanging out with them." looks out to the sea wistfully

P.S. If you're wondering what the rings look like, it's the same as my profile pic, but with a darker blue crystal. Also, thanks for your support, it means a lot to me.

Hey Digit - to answer your questions, no Byron isn't in the story since he wasn't in season 2, so my head canon is that he moved away. Also, his personality was very one dimensional, the chill surfer dude, and I wouldn't know what to do with him. Lol. As for Charlotte, I don't have any nefarious intentions for her, but we will see more of her perspective regarding her losing her tail and powers.

Thanks for your support, Digit. I agree with you about Will's original personality, he was way too pushy and nosy. With an unlikeable character like him, Bella was better off without a love interest in the show. As for Elliot and Kim, I'm not too sure what I'll do about their relationship but having them date did cross my mind a few times. Also, the next chapter's almost done, should be out in a couple of days.