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Chapter Text

Chapter 1

As soon as Zane walked away from the display window is when she had walked in to buy the locket Rikki Chadwick was so keen on getting. What did Zane see in her anyway? Sure, she wasn't ugly but she wasn't his type. Not that anyone knew much about Rikki, but Miriam suspected she didn't come from riches like she and Zane did. That's why they were good together; they were the same. She just needed to get him to realize that and she needed to get this new girl away.

The locket wasn't that expensive, thankfully. Although, Miriam would have paid almost any price to make sure it was in her hands, not Rikki's or Zane's. She wore it to the cafe and, as expected, Rikki was there and boy, was she pissed. If Zane hadn't pulled Rikki off of Miriam, who knows what would have happened. It didn't matter though, Miriam got exactly what she wanted. That was until Zane drove a dagger into her heart, saying they were never together. That's not what she remembered.

The locket was annoying. It kept getting caught on her shirt and earrings. She knew she was going to have to part with it eventually but she didn't know what would be the best way to do it. She couldn't just stop wearing it, it would only confirm Zane and Rikki's suspicions that she bought it for petty reasons. Zane clearly wasn't letting go of Rikki either. How could she get rid of this locket and remind Zane how much better she was than the messy haired brat he was with?

Miriam glanced up to the TV in the cafe and noticed they were playing the Little Mermaid. She loved that movie when she was younger. What she wouldn't give to be a mermaid, in love with a handsome prince, ready for true love's kiss...

Wait a minute. That's it! She needed to kiss Zane. Then he'd remember how much of a better kisser she was than Rikki. Yes, she'd give him the locket for a kiss! She needed Rikki to see it, though. How would she get them both in the same place? At the JuiceNet of course! They were both here all the time, if she just waited they were both sure to come back in soon.

Miriam stood up to get another juice when her earring got caught on her necklace. She let out a yelp of pain and her friend, Tiffany stood up to help her.

"Miriam, are you all right?" Tiffany asked.

"Do I look all right?!" Miriam exclaimed back, her head titled so her earring wouldn't rip out of her ear. "Help me out."

"Just hold still," She said as she started trying to unclasp the two pieces of jewelry.

"Stop it!" Miriam exclaimed after a moment. "You're making it worse!"

"Just relax." Tiffany tried. "Try tilting your head."

"I am, you moron," Miriam shot back. "That's why it's caught! Ugh I wish I never bought this thing!"

Just then, Tiffany must have unclasped the necklace and it went flying, hitting the nearest table, the locket popping open.

"That was your fault," Miriam said. "Fix it."

Miriam pushed past Tiffany to return to their table while Tiffany went to pick up the likely broken locket. It seemed to be fine but it was now open for the first time. Inside was an old picture of three girls. Tiffany supposed that was normal for items like this but something about the picture seemed intriguing.

"Weird, old picture." Tiffany said as she set the locket down by Miriam.

"Let me see that." Miriam said, snatching the locket off the table. The photo in the locket was old and weird yet something about it was familiar. But what was it?

Suddenly, something in the background caught her eye. Something she had only previously seen in a sketch Zane had made of the supposed mermaid that saved him from the boat wreck. Was he right about the mermaids all along? Miriam glanced up at the TV seeing the cartoon mermaid and then back at the locket where she saw three real mermaids staring back at her.

This begged the question, why did Rikki want it so much? Was she related to the mermaid Zane was hunting? This photo was ancient and the shop told her it was from a deceased estate, the others in this photo were probably dead too. Still, if Miriam could make Zane think Rikki had some involvement with the mermaids he was hunting and was keeping it a secret, Zane would likely turn on Rikki and come crawling back to Miriam.

Oh, yes this plan was even better than true love's kiss.

Miriam peaked out the entrance in front of her and saw the blonde bimbo meet up with Lewis. Over by the entrance beside her, she saw Zane heading up to the cafe with Nate and Wilfred. They likely didn't see each other making this the perfect set up.

Zane and his group entered the cafe first. Wilfred was carrying what looked like an old door from a boat with the two boys in tow. Miriam caught eyes with Zane and wagged her finger to motion him over to her table.

"What do you want?" He asked when he arrived. "No more games."

"Games?" She scoffed. "Me? Please. Look, I have a proposition for you."

"Yeah, what's that?" Zane asked.

"It's just..." she started, pulling her pouting face she usually used with her father to get more money. "I'm just bored with the locket."

"Really?" Zane asked, skeptically.

"Yes." She replied. "And I'd gladly give it to you for nothing."

"Really?" He asked again. "What's the catch?"

"No catch." Miriam replied as she reached to grab the locket. The beaded curtains behind Zane rattled and she noticed Rikki and Lewis had entered the cafe, both eyes on Zane and their table. Perfect timing.

"Here you go." She said as she placed it in his hand and stood up from their table. "Looks like it popped open on accident. Oops."

Zane watched as Miriam walked away, just to make sure she wasn't going to turn back and change her mind or ask him for something ridiculous. She seemed to seriously want to part with this locket. He looked down at the item in his hand, thinking she might have broken it. It was unclasped but it wasn't broken. Although she was right, the locket was popped open and Zane could see the picture inside for the first time.

It was an old picture of three girls. He supposed the smiles on the girls' faces would be the first thing most people would have noticed but something else caught his eye. Something he'd only seen a few times before.

The three girls in front of him were mermaids.

His mind started racing again on the mermaid hunt. He had been so obsessed with getting this locket for Rikki, he hadn't given mermaids much of a thought today.

Rikki.

She wanted this locket. No, she needed this locket. She wanted the red dress they saw in the window but he knew she would have been fine without it. Hell, she was ready to trash it when she came back to his dad's business lunch. This locket was different, it seemed like life or death for her. Rikki was head-strong but she wouldn't pick a fight in public unless that person had seriously wronged her or someone she had cared about. Even outside the cafe, she was heated but as secretive as ever. Zane had wondered why she wouldn't tell him why she needed the locket so badly, why she would never come out on his Zodiac with him, why she never, ever let him talk about mermaids. Now, looking down at the picture of the three girls with tails resting inside the locket she so desperately needed, things seemed to start to make sense.

"Hey, you got the locket." He vaguely heard Rikki's voice behind him. He wanted to be mad. He wanted to yell at her. She had a connection to mermaids and she kept it from him. His mind was still racing and he wasn't sure he was going to make the right decision by yelling at her or by just giving her the locket. He needed some fresh air.

"Yeah," he started. She gave him an odd look as if to ask what was wrong. "Can we talk outside?"

"Sure." Rikki replied as she lead him out to the lawn. Luckily, Lewis stayed behind in the cafe.

"What's up?" Rikki asked as they stopped at a tree near the water.

"The locket was open when Miriam gave it to me." Zane said, honestly. He watched Rikki's eyes go wide and try to snatch the locket from him. He quickly closed his hand around the locket so she couldn't take it. She'd probably run off with it if she was able to get her hands on it. He needed this conversation to continue.

"You know more about mermaids than you've led me to believe." Zane accused her. He was still calm but it was taking every muscle inside of him to keep himself in check. Rikki crossed her arms over her chest, neither confirming or denying his accusation. He wished she would say something. Someone had to say something.

"Why do you want this locket so badly?" Zane proceeded. Rikki kept her arms folded and looked at the grass below them as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. "Who are these girls?"

"It doesn't matter." She mumbled, just loud enough for him to hear. "Forget about it."

That was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Forget about it?!" Zane yelled. His outrage seemed to have gotten her attention away from the grass, at least. "Rikki, how the hell am I supposed to forget about this? You know how important this mermaid hunt is to me. I don't know what all you know but I know you've been lying to me about this."

"How have I been lying?!" Rikki shot back, suddenly just as mad as he was. "It's not like you ever asked me anything about it! It's not like you've asked me if I was a mermaid!"

His world stopped. It was...her? Rikki was the one who saved him from Ms. Chatham's boat? Rikki was the redhead he saw swimming away from her sunken boat a few months later? It was her all along? A few months ago, if she had just blurted out to him that she was a mermaid, he wouldn't have believed her but now he didn't feel he even needed proof.

"You're... a mermaid?" Zane asked. If Rikki's eyes doubled in size when he told her he saw the picture in the locket, they were tripled now.

"I didn't say that." Rikki finally replied in a soft voice, reassuming her position staring at the ground with her arms crossed.

"Then let me rephrase the question," Zane said. "Rikki, are you a mermaid?"

He didn't know what to expect when she took her eyes off the ground but it wasn't her eyes brimming with tears. He had never seen her cry before and he knew she wasn't the type to cry over spilled milk. He struck a huge chord with her. Then again, he supposed if she was a mermaid, she couldn't parade that piece of information around. People might try to harm her and profit off of her.

Just like he said he was going to do when he found the mermaid.

Fuck, he had messed this all up. She was probably scared for her life.

"Rikki..." Zane started in a much calmer voice as this realization dawned on him. He reached out to touch her arm but she pulled away.

"Don't!" She exclaimed. She took a step back to get away from him and that must have been all she needed to break out of the statue she was stuck in and started to turn around and walk away.

"Rikki, wait!" Zane exclaimed as he jumped in front of her, blocking her from moving forward another step.

"Zane, get out of my way." She tried as he saw tears starting to fall down her face.

"No, we need to talk about this." He tried, grabbing one of her arms in his free hand to try to keep her from maneuvering around him. Suddenly, his hand was scalding hot and he felt himself let go.

"No, we don't." Rikki replied as she easily moved past him and and started running away from the cafe, the locket still secure in Zane's possession.

AN: I hope you guys enjoyed the start of this story! I had originally planned to have this story run about 5-6 chapters which would line up with the end of the episode In Too Deep (S1 EP23) but my mind has been racing and it might go through the end of the first season and who knows, maybe even further. We'll have to see what my brain decides to do. I also know things are going to start getting busy for me so if it's super busy I will keep it short just so you guys aren't left with a story with no end. Still, let me know what you guys would like to see!

I also hope to post new chapters every Monday, Wednesday and Friday so be on the look out if you're interested!

Chapter Text

Chapter 2

He had really fucked up.

He let her run off and who knows if she'd ever come back to him. He had been so keen to prove to everyone in Gold Coast he had found a mermaid. He had just assumed the mermaid lived in the ocean all the time, it never occurred to him it could have been someone on the surface, much less someone he knew.

With an exasperated sigh, Zane figured he needed to go back into the cafe. A juice might help calm him down and he needed to tell Nate they weren't going to hang out tomorrow. Zane needed to find Rikki and work this thing out.

"Hey, you got the locket." Lewis had said to him once Zane sat down at the bar with his juice. He had just tossed the locket to the side after he closed it. For the first time in months, he didn't want to think about mermaids.

"Yeah." Zane replied back, simply. He hoped that was enough to get Lewis to leave him alone.

"You didn't give it to Rikki?" Lewis asked. "I saw you guys go outside."

"She didn't want it anymore." He said.

"What?" Lewis exclaimed back as if he didn't believe Zane. "Of course she wants it! It's the same as Cleo's and..."

Lewis trailed off before ending his sentence. Zane looked up at him to see Lewis' eyes were wide like Rikki's were earlier. People just didn't seem to be able to keep secrets today.

"The same as Cleo's and who's locket?" Zane asked.

"No one." Lewis said with a laugh. When Rikki was trying to hide something, she closed up and you'd be hellbent to get in. When Lewis was trying to hide something, he deflected it with awkward humor.

"What do you know, Lewis?" Zane asked.

"Nothing." Lewis replied. "But I really should be heading home."

Was it possible Lewis knew Rikki's mermaid secret? It would make sense, really. She couldn't hide it from everyone. Then again, Lewis was closer to Cleo than everyone. Everyone in the whole town besides the two of them could tell they had feelings for each other. Cleo did spend a lot of time with Rikki. It always seemed to be the two of them and Emma hanging out and Lewis was never far behind. Then Zane remembered the inside of the locket. There were three girls inside. Three mermaids. And Cleo had a locket too.

Lewis was almost out the door when Zane caught him with a simple statement.

"I know what's inside the locket." Zane said. Lewis stopped in his tracks.

"You-you opened it?" Lewis asked, turning around.

"It's a long story." Zane replied moving closer to Lewis so people wouldn't hear them. "I know Rikki's secret too. I have a feeling I'm not the only one."

"Let's go outside." Lewis said after a moment.

The two boys who were now in the know of the girls that possessed secret mermaid identities walked out to the lawn Rikki and Zane had argued at previously. Zane told Lewis everything. How Miriam gave him the locket with it wide open. How he had accused Rikki of knowing about mermaids. How she had accidentally confirmed she was a mermaid to him and how she ran off.

"I wouldn't hurt her, intentionally." Zane said. "This whole mermaid hunt... I just wanted to prove I was right about it. I thought she lived in the ocean all the time and I thought it would be cool to expose such a myth. I guess I just thought of the mermaid like a fish, sometimes people catch them and they die. The cycle of life, you know. I never thought she'd be someone here."

"I'm not sure what to tell you, Zane." Lewis had replied. "I know you don't want to harm Rikki but she's not convinced of that. You know how stubborn she can be."

"Yeah," Zane replied with a small smile. Her stubbornness drove him crazy sometimes but he secretly loved it. "Do you know where I could find her?"

"Maybe," Lewis replied. "There's a secret spot but I think she should be the one to tell you about that."

Zane sighed. He really needed to talk to Rikki but he supposed Lewis was right. She'd probably freak out and swim all the way to America if he just waltzed into this secret spot of hers.

"Look, Zane she probably just needs some space." Lewis told him. "I'm sure she and the girls will come by the JuiceNet tomorrow, why don't you just hang out here tomorrow and I'm sure you'll be able to see her."

"That's probably a good idea." Zane said back. He wished he could talk to her now but Lewis was right. Rikki wasn't going to open up to anyone until she wanted to.

"Sounds like a plan." Lewis said. "I've got to head out. Good luck with it."

Lewis started to walk away from Zane when he thought of something else he needed to tell the girls. Although showing up at their homes and letting them know he knew they were mermaids would likely not be comforting to them.

"Lewis?" Zane asked.

"Yeah?" Lewis replied as he turned around.

"The girls," he started. "You mean Cleo and Emma, right?"

Lewis looked like his brain was going to explode. It seemed like he knew that Zane knew they were also mermaids. He supposed he did expose Cleo and it didn't take a genius to figure out Emma was also a major part of the girls' friendship. Nevertheless, Lewis started stuttering excuses toward Zane.

"Look, just tell them I wouldn't hurt them either, okay?" Zane told Lewis.

"Yeah." Lewis replied after a while. "All right."

Lewis turned around and started walking away from him again. Zane looked down at the locket and opened it up to reveal the three mermaids. He didn't think this was how he would feel when he finally found his mermaid. Then again, he certainly didn't think his mermaid would have been Rikki Chadwick.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3

If her friends called to hang out, Rikki was going to tell them she was sick. She needed to stay home to think of a plan. She also couldn't face telling them Zane knew of her secret. They had given her such a hard time about dating him and possibly letting their mermaid identity out into the open. She supposed if she and Zane became much more serious than they were now, she would have to tell him at some point. She couldn't very well get married to someone and keep her mermaid identity a secret. But this and now was not what she had planned at all.

Would she have to leave the country? Zane was anxious to find his mermaid. He had mentioned making a profit on it before. Would he try to sell her to some scientist who would rip her to pieces? Even if he didn't do that, every time he described the mermaid he used terms like "weird". Would he really want to keep dating a "weird" girl? At the least, he'd probably just expose her to his friends. He wanted more than anything to prove he was right about the mermaid. Even if he didn't have any ill intentions, who knows what Nate or Miriam would do to her.

Her dad had long since left for work and she was pacing the small area that was their living room, wondering what to do. Could she meet up with Ms. Chatham to talk about this? No, the old hoot would probably be pissed she let the secret out. She couldn't, under any circumstances, tell Cleo or Emma either. Rikki was used to keeping things to herself. She liked it most of the time but she didn't know what to do with this secret.

Her life would have been so much simpler if she wasn't a mermaid. If she just hadn't stolen Zane's Zodiac, she'd still be a normal girl. Funny, she never thought of it before but in a way, Zane was the reason they were mermaids. If she hadn't have stolen his spark plug, if he hadn't pushed Cleo out to sea, who knows if the girls would even be friends let alone share this bond.

Rikki realized she wasn't going to be able to come up with a plan just pacing in the small space. She always did her best thinking when she was outside, by the beach. That would risk the possibility of her running into Zane, Cleo, Emma, Lewis, Ms. Chatham or really anyone she knew but she wasn't going to figure anything out here. Maybe if she went to a different beach than normal, they wouldn't find her.

She decided on Rockshore Beach, a secluded area with lots of large rocks and boulders. No one ever really came out here, the tide was often too high and the rocks and boulders could mean serious injury. That still didn't make it a bad place to just walk along the sand. That was until it was until she was no longer alone.

"Nate, I told you I can't go out today." Zane snapped at his friend who didn't seem to get the message the day before.

"Why not?" Nate asked. Zane wouldn't dare tell Nate why. Not only did Zane want to keep Rikki's secret from Nate, he knew Nate wouldn't understand repairing a wrong with a... well, whatever Rikki was to Zane. They never really put a label on their relationship.

"I just have things to do." Zane replied.

"What, like sitting here in the cafe all day?" Nate asked.

"Yep." Zane replied, hoping Nate would become annoyed with him and move on.

"Come on, mate." Nate whined at him. "The waves are really good out by Rockshore Beach, let's hit the surf!"

"Rockshore?" Zane asked. "No, thanks. I don't feel like dying today."

"No one's died out there." Nate tried again. "Come on, just for a bit. Then you can come back here and do... whatever you're doing."

Zane sighed. Nate could be as stubborn as he could sometimes. Still not as stubborn as Rikki. Rikki. He needed to stay here at the cafe. Still, it was early. Rikki and her friends didn't come in until later usually. Maybe he could afford a half hour away from the cafe.

"Fine." Zane said, standing up from the bar. "Half hour, tops."

"Deal." Nate replied as the two headed out to gear up and go to Rockshore Beach.

Rikki was still pacing in the sand almost an hour later. She had forgotten to wear sunblock and was probably going to have a bad burn from this but she didn't care. The outdoors hadn't done her much good in her thinking process but she had decided she couldn't leave town yet. As much as she didn't want to, she needed to talk to Zane and figure out what he knew. If he knew Cleo and Emma were also mermaids and wanted to expose them, they would need to know too. She secretly hoped Zane knew of the other girls' secret too so they could work together to come up with an escape plan. As much as Rikki hated to admit it, the three of them did work better when they worked together.

Still, if she kept a low profile, she wouldn't need to talk to Zane today. She couldn't talk to him today. This all felt as if someone had taken a part of her away. She supposed that was what a break up was about. She wouldn't dare admit this but she never had a boyfriend before so everything about her relationship with Zane was new. They hadn't put labels on what they were yet but they went on dates often, neither of them were seeing other people, they were basically boyfriend and girlfriend, right? Who knows.

She was getting ready to leave when she heard someone come up behind her. She turned around to see two boys in surf gear. One of the boys was Zane.

Rikki wanted to run but something kept her frozen in place. She locked eyes with Zane and saw him put his board down, say something to Nate the latter didn't seem thrilled about and run towards her.

"Can I have a word?" He asked, once he reached her.

"Sure." She muttered. The waves were high and loud so she wasn't sure if he heard her. She turned and started walking the other direction and he followed her, seemingly understanding.

"So..." Zane started. He knew he was going to have to start this conversation with her but he didn't really know how. "You're a mermaid?"

Great start.

"Only when I get wet." Rikki replied. There was no use trying to deny it now.

"How?" Zane blurted out. He wanted to say more or even ask a different, more thoughtful question but that was all his brain could tell his mouth to say.

"It's a long story." Rikki replied.

"I have time." Zane said.

"I don't." Rikki scoffed, not much caring if he took offense.

"Rikki, come on," Zane tried, grabbing her arm so she was facing him. "You can trust me, I promise."

"Trust you?!" Rikki shot back. "How the hell am I supposed to trust the great mermaid hunter?"

"Look, I know I said and did somethings in the past that might make you think I would harm the mermaid, intentionally or unintentionally, but I would never do that to you." Zane said. "I want to protect you and keep your secret."

"Really?" Rikki scoffed again. "You're telling me you don't want to drag me up to the cafe, dump water all over me and prove you were right to everyone?"

"Rikki, I don't care about being right anymore." Zane said. "I care about you. And us."

"I wish I could believe you." She replied.

"Come on!" They suddenly heard Nate yell from a couple yards away. "Are we going or what?"

"Yeah, in a minute, Nate." Zane replied. That was a change from him usually ditching her to do whatever Nate wanted when he was getting impatient.

"You can believe me, Rikki." Zane told her. "I promise you, I wouldn't do anything to harm you or the girls."

"So you know there's more?" Rikki said. He had just about confirmed the information she needed. She was ready to run to Cleo and Emma's house to let them know it was time to leave Gold Coast.

"Yeah," Zane said. "Lewis accidentally told me. Cleo and Emma, right?"

"Yeah," she said, softly. They'd be gone by morning and Zane would be back to being the crazed mermaid hunter. It didn't matter if he knew or not.

"Rikki, I promise-" Zane was cut off by an excited yell behind him. Nate clearly couldn't wait any longer so he hit the waves by himself. He rode the wave he was on out but crashed at the end. It didn't seem to matter and he ran up to the two and dropped his board a few feet behind Zane.

"Come on, mate." He said to Zane, water dripping off his hair and face. "The waves aren't going to last all day. Let go!"

"I said in a minute, Nate." Zane snapped at his friend.

Nate seemed to ignore his friend's irritable mood and tried another tactic.

"Rikki," he said, moving closer to the blonde girl. "How about it? You surf, babe?"

Nate placed an arm around her shoulders as he talked to her. It wasn't any different than any time he talked to another girl and Rikki would have just shoved him off and stormed away but Nate was still dripping wet and now she was too. She inhaled sharply as she felt the water touch her shoulders and the back of her neck and knew she would transform soon. She looked up and locked eyes with Zane, hoping he could tell what she was trying to say and hoping he would prove her wrong.

Zane already seemed to be in motion when Rikki looked up at him. She felt his hand on the back of her shoulder, pushing her out of Nate's arms and even behind Zane himself, towards the ocean. She turned around to see Zane had grabbed Nate's surf suit with his other hand and had switched their positions so Nate was facing the land and Zane facing out to sea, at Rikki. She didn't miss the small nod he gave her.

"She's my girlfriend, Nate." Rikki heard Zane yell at his friend as she ran into the water. "Don't touch her."

Rikki swam into the ocean, wondering how Zane was going to explain her sudden disappearance to Nate. Nate wasn't the brightest bulb in the box though so maybe it wouldn't be too difficult. Still, Rikki swam toward Mako Island knowing two things. One, she could trust Zane with her mermaid secret and two, she was Zane Bennett's girlfriend. The thought would have made the girl that stole the Zodiac hurl but currently made her smile.

What a crazy life she lived.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4

True to his word, Nate and Zane only surfed for a half hour. Although Zane spent most of his time sitting on the beach, wondering where Rikki had swam off to. Maybe it was the secret spot Lewis was talking about yesterday. More than anything, he hoped she was all right and he hoped she would feel she could trust him after this.

Zane had spoken to Rikki, which was what he set out to do today. Still, he didn't feel like they got the closure on the situation they needed. He was still unsure if she trusted him. Hell, she might have swam off to another continent for all he knew. He hoped with every fiber in his being that wasn't what had happened. It was only mid-afternoon, he didn't know what to do with the rest of his day. He supposed he could go back to the JuiceNet and have a few drinks before heading home.

Zane sat at the corner of the bar sipping on his second juice. Thankfully, he must have given off bad energy since no one even took a seat next to him. That is until he felt someone come sit beside him as his finished his juice.

"Hi," Rikki said to him. He moved his empty cup out of the way and turned to face her.

"Hey," he said with a hopeful smile on his face. She still looked a bit unsure. He could tell she was weighing options in her head though. That was better than nothing.

"Thanks for covering for me with Nate." She said as she glanced at his cup in the corner.

"No problem." He replied, looking directly as her. Suddenly he remembered the locket he still had in his pocket. "I meant to give this to you."

He pulled the locket out of his pocket and handed it to her. A small but pained smile came over her face.

"Thanks." She replied, barely making any eye contact with him.

Zane decided he wasn't going to try to speak. He had said everything he wanted to say to her and more. Rikki would need to be the one to talk next. She hadn't said much all day. It was only fair.

"So I'm your girlfriend now?" Rikki asked him, the pain in her smile disappearing.

"If you want to be." Zane replied. He certainly wasn't going to force her.

"It's just... it's a lot, you know." Rikki said. "The secret. It's a lot for just me to deal with. And Emma and Cleo. There's a lot that you don't know about it. Hell, there's a lot that I don't know about it. It's hard enough just being a teenager and to deal with this on top of it... it's something I have to do but I don't want to drag you into it."

"You're forgetting who you're talking to." Zane said with a cheeky smile. Rikki looked confused. "I'm the mermaid hunter."

They shared a small laugh after that. He suspected Rikki was a bit relieved he didn't agree with her and walk out.

"Look, I'm the only one around here who believes in mermaids." Zane told her. "I can handle it."

"Zane..." Rikki started with a sigh, looking again at the discarded cup.

Zane placed two of his fingers under her chin, gently guiding her lips to his. They met in a sweet kiss. He loved kissing her. If you asked him, they didn't do it enough. It would have to be something they would start working on if they became boyfriend and girlfriend.

"I can handle it." Zane repeated. "If it means being with you, I can handle most anything."

Rikki smiled again and he swore he saw tears brimming in her eyes. He hoped they were happy tears and he didn't hurt her somehow, yet again.

"Okay." Rikki replied. "Let's do it then."

They both stood up and enveloped each other in a hug. She fit perfectly right under his chin. They needed to hug more too, Zane noted.

"I do have one condition though," Zane started.

"What's that?" Rikki asked.

"Well, I know you said you don't know everything about this mermaid stuff but can you tell me what you do know?" Zane asked. "I promise, I'll keep it all to myself but I just want to know everything about you. No more secrets."

"Fair enough." Rikki replied. "Look, I'll need to talk to Emma and Cleo before we do all of that if that's all right."

"Yeah," Zane said. "I can wait. I bet that will be a fun conversation for you."

"Tell me about it." She replied with an eye roll. The other two girls never liked him and, to be fair, they had good reasoning.

"Although, I suppose I can tell you one thing." Rikki said.

"What's that?" Zane asked.

"Well, do you remember when we had our first kiss on Mako Island?" She asked. Zane nodded. "How you said you couldn't remember anything after it? Well, I wasn't completely myself then but... I dehydrated you."

"What?" Zane asked with a disbelieving smile.

"And last night, to get you to let go of me, I burned your hand." Rikki told him.

"How...is that even possible?" Zane asked.

"I don't know." Rikki said. "Mermaid magic I suppose. We all have different powers. I can heat water as hot as I want to."

"Huh." Zane said after a moment. "I guess there is a lot I don't know. What about your secret spot?"

"Secret spot?" Rikki asked as if he started speaking another language.

"Lewis told me you have a secret spot." Zane told her.

"We all do." Rikki said. "I need to talk to the girls before I show you."

Zane nodded. If he had his way, he would want to know everything now but he understood why she needed to talk to Emma and Cleo first. It probably wouldn't be too comforting to them if he and Rikki were in their secret place, him uninvited.

"I'm supposed to meet up with them this evening actually." Rikki said. "I could probably tell them the news and then you and I can meet up later tonight."

"Yeah, all right." Zane responded with a smile. "That works for me."

"Good." Rikki said. "I'm going to head out then. I'll catch you later."

Zane pulled her arm back to him and leaned down to give her a kiss. It hadn't struck him until now that they were in a very public place but he didn't care and she didn't seem to have a problem with it.

"See you later." He said with a smile on his face. She gave him a smile back and he didn't miss the slight blushing on her cheeks either.

Before Rikki walked out of the cafe, Zane barely registered the opening of the beaded curtains behind him. He just watched Rikki walk out of the front exit of the JuiceNet.

"What were you doing with her?" He heard a familiar voice behind him. Miriam stood there with a pissed look on her face.

"Her?" Zane asked back. "Oh, you mean my girlfriend?"

Miriam's jaw hit the floor. This is not what she had planned. Zane was supposed to be mad at her for hiding her mermaid connection from him. He wasn't supposed to forgive her for anything.

"I..." Miriam started. "But... the locket..."

"Oh, yeah I just gave it to her." Zane replied. "Thanks for giving it up, Rikki really loves it."

Zane exited the juice bar out the same exit Rikki had left. He felt like a whole new man. It was a good feeling, really. Out with the old and in with the new.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5

Rikki was as nervous as she had ever been standing outside of Emma's front door. She knew the two girls didn't like that she was dating Zane let alone trust him. She supposed they had a right not to trust him. He was never the friendliest person to them or anyone besides Rikki herself, really.

Still, she couldn't take back what he knew and she figured since he knew so much, he might as well know everything. If anything, this would just be a heads up to the girls. They might swim into the moon pool and Rikki and Zane would be there on a date. They might be hanging out at the JuiceNet and Zane might ask Rikki if she wanted to go for a swim and she'd say yes. They didn't have to be okay with it, they just needed to know.

Rikki entered the house and made her way up to Emma's room after saying a quick hello to Emma's parents. With an exhale, she entered to find the other two girls with mermaid identities in the room. They were both flipping through some magazines, likely trying to find some cute, new outfits.

"Hey, Rikki," Cleo greeted her. "You got the locket!"

Rikki vaguely remembered she had put the locket on on her way over to Emma's house.

"How'd you get it?" Emma asked. "I thought you said Miriam had it."

"She did." Rikki replied. "I'm not sure, Zane much have gotten from her somehow."

"That was nice of him." Cleo responded. Emma didn't give as much of as much of a friendly response.

"Yeah, it was." Rikki replied. "He's done several nice things for me, actually."

"Like what?" Emma asked, unconvinced.

"Well..." Rikki started. She supposed she could rip the band aid off now but she wasn't sure that was the best idea. "He got me that dress after I said I wanted it."

"You gave it back though, didn't you?" Emma asked.

"No, I still have it." Rikki said. "I was only going to give it back if he kept taking his dad's side."

"What other nice things has he done for you?" Cleo asked, less out of spite and more out of curiosity. If any of the three was a hopeless romantic, it was Cleo.

"He's always been a gentleman on our dates." Rikki said. "He always pays for my food and anything else we pick up."

"Anything not involving money?" Emma asked. "It's not much for Zane to spend a few hundred dollars."

Fair enough, Rikki thought. It would be more of a dick move on his end if he made her pay for everything on their dates when she and everyone in Gold Coast knew he was loaded.

"Well..." Rikki started. Time to rip the band aid off. "He did help me earlier today. We ran into each other at the beach, I was by myself and he was with Nate, and I got wet and he covered for me so Nate wouldn't know I was a mermaid."

The two girls looked up from the magazines they were reading to stare at Rikki. She had their full attention now. She tried to keep her face as stoic as possible but the looks of confusion on their faces was hysterical.

"Rikki," Emma started. "Why would Zane have known to cover for you if you got wet?"

"Yeah," Cleo agreed. "Does he know we're... you know...mermaids?"

"What can I say," Rikki said picking up one of the several magazines on Emma's bed. "The boy's a genius."

"Rikki!" Emma exclaimed. "How could you let Zane know we're mermaids?!"

"It's not like I just walked into the cafe and told him!" Rikki shot back. "Like I said, he figured it out."

"How could he have figured it out?" Emma asked. "Did you grow a tail in front of him?"

"No." Rikki replied. "I think Miriam set him up."

"How does she know?" Emma exclaimed again.

"I doubt she knows anything." Rikki replied. "She's got the same IQ as this locket."

"Rikki what happened?" Emma asked.

Rikki dove into the events of the past few days. How Miriam had given Zane the locket, how she accidentally told him she was a mermaid and ran off, again how they bumped into each other at the beach and how he had covered for her and their meet up at the cafe.

"I know it sounds crazy, but I feel like we can trust him." Rikki told the other two girls. "Besides, it's not like we have a choice. He already knows."

"What if he blurts it out to someone?" Emma asked. "What if we get hurt? What if you get hurt?"

"Lewis knows too." Rikki said. "He could easily tell anyone too. He's almost slipped up numerous times."

"Lewis has always protected us." Cleo jumped in. She was usually quiet during arguments until someone came after Lewis. "He would never intentionally tell anyone our secret."

"My point, exactly." Rikki replied. "Zane wouldn't do that either."

"How can you be so sure?" Emma asked in a much calmer voice than before.

"To be honest, I thought he would expose us too." Rikki said. "But he helped me with Nate. He didn't have to do that. He could have just let me turn into a fish and then he would have gloated to Nate about how he was right about mermaids all along.

"And...um..." Rikki continued, clearly becoming a bit uncomfortable, trying to hide her blush from the two girls. "Well, when we met up at the cafe he may have asked me to be his girlfriend."

"So it's official now?" Cleo asked with a big smile on her face.

"Yep." Rikki confirmed, a slight smile back.

"That's great, Rikki." Cleo said. "Congratulations."

"Thanks." Rikki replied, turning her head toward Emma to see a stoic look on her face.

"So what all does he know?" Emma asked Rikki.

"Not much, really." Rikki replied. "I didn't want to tell him anything until I told you guys. He hasn't even seen me as a mermaid yet."

"What all do you plan on telling him?" Cleo asked.

"Well, everything really." Rikki said. "Not all at once though...but I was thinking of taking him to the moon pool tonight and starting there."

"I suppose that is a good place to start." Cleo stated. Emma looked as unsure as ever.

"Rikki, I'm not so sure about all this." Emma said. "It is Zane after all."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Rikki asked.

"It's Zane." Emma replied. "The great mermaid hunter. You don't have even the slightest of doubts. The moon pool is practically sacred to us. Why not just take him to an isolated beach and show him there?"

"Sure, because that will explain everything." Rikki said. "Yeah, Zane I just touched water and poof! I'm a mermaid!"

"Well maybe he doesn't need to know everything." Emma said.

"Lewis knows everything!" Rikki shot back again.

"Lewis is trustworthy." Emma replied before Cleo could say anything.

"I just told you I trust Zane, how is that any different?" Rikki asked.

"Because I don't trust Zane!" Emma said. "I'm sorry, but I don't. I'm not going to lie to you."

"And I'm supposed to appreciate that?" Rikki asked.

"Rikki-" Cleo started, wanting to diffuse the tension that currently existed between the fiery and icy mermaids.

"You know what," Rikki cut her off. "This is why I don't tell you anything that has to do with Zane. You always jump down my throat about it and I'm sick of it. I'm taking him to the moon pool tonight and that's that."

Rikki stormed out of the room, ignoring Cleo's protests to try to bring her back. Emma was quiet so she clearly didn't care if Rikki walked off or not. Rikki loved being in a relationship with Zane but it was times like these she was beyond frustrated with her friends for doubting his intentions, or more importantly, dismissing her feelings.

Once she was outside of Emma's house, she took a few deep breaths and flipped open her phone.

"Hey." She heard his voice after a few rings.

"Hi." She replied back. "I just got done with the girls."

"How'd it go?" Zane asked.

"I'll tell you about it later." Rikki replied, trying to sound as neutral as possible. She started her next sentence before he could say anything. "Do you want to meet at Mako?"

"Sure." Zane replied. "I'll meet you at the Zodiac in a few minutes."

"I have a way of getting there on my own." Rikki replied with a grin. "I'll catch you later."

"All right." Zane said with a laugh. "I'll see you soon."

One thing was for sure, Rikki was going to show Zane the secrets of Mako Island tonight, regardless of if her friends wanted her to or not. Little did the blonde mermaid know of the dangers lurking at Mako Island in the form of a certain marine biologist's boat.

AN: Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the previous few! I've been so thankful for this love on this story! I think I will make it the longer version so be prepared for several extra chapters. Things are about to get way more dramatic now that Denman is in the picture! I feel weird about adding her in but she does make an appearance around this point in the series anyway.

Anyway, just wanted to give you all a quick update and let you know where I'm planning on heading with the story! I have a couple more H2O ideas independent from this one that I should be publishing soon so be on the look out for those if you are interested! Also just wanted to say thanks again for all the love!

Chapter Text

Chapter 6

It was dark outside by the time Zane arrived at Mako Island. He looked up at the sky and was surprised at how many more stars he saw in the sky than he did on the main land. The island was truly a natural beauty and he was so glad Rikki had foiled his dad's plans to develop it.

He had been on the island for only a few minutes when he wondered when Rikki would arrive. If she was a mermaid, surely she could breathe underwater but Mako was still a good twenty miles away from the main land. It would take her forever to swim here. Unless she could swim incredibly fast. He had seen that one mermaid out by Ms. Chatham's sunken boat swim off at lighting speed. Maybe Rikki could do that too.

Then, he wondered if the red head was Rikki or one of the other girls. Or could there possibly be more mermaids than the three of them? None of them had red hair. He also wondered if it was Rikki who had saved him when the boat was sinking. He'd only seen the tail of the mermaid, not her face. It very well could have been Rikki but it also could have been Cleo or Emma.

"Hey," he heard a voice behind him that nearly made him jump out of his skin.

"No need to be scared to death." She gently chastised him.

"Hi, to you too." He replied, moving away from the Zodiac. "Where'd you come from?"

"That's what I wanted to show you." Rikki replied. She reached out for his hand and beckoned him toward the forest. That was until she saw the large, white boat out at sea. The boat had a logo on it she had recognized only from the time Lewis was taking the three girls' DNA into that marine biologist. Was it her? Were they in danger?

"Rikki?" Zane asked. She hadn't realized she had stopped walking until he called her name. "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah," she said back with a smile. "It's... nothing important."

"All right." Zane replied, not entirely convinced.

Rikki resumed her journey to the moon pool with Zane. She hoped she remembered how to get there from the land. She hadn't come in that way since the three girls had become mermaids. After walking for a few minutes she came across the waterfall they had stumbled into many months ago and knew she had the right spot.

"There's a tunnel here." She motioned to the hole the ground you'd likely miss if you didn't already know it was there. "Fair warning, it's bit steep so watch yourself."

Zane nodded. Where the hell was she taking him? Did she only trick him when she told him she could trust him? Was she going to leave him for dead? Before he could overthink any more, he saw her slip out of sight down the narrow tunnel. He knew he had to follow her. She was right, it was steep and he probably would have twisted his ankle if she hadn't warned him.

They were in a small cave, barely big enough for one more person. What the hell was this? Zane thought. Still, Rikki was trusting him with this secret, he needed to trust her. He watched her walk further into the tunnel and followed suit. He noticed the ceiling of the tunnel was starting to get higher and higher and he could soon walk through the tunnel fully standing. They eventually bumped into a few steps that lead into a large space with a dazzling blue pool in the center. He looked around to take in his surroundings and noticed the night sky in a hole above them.

"Are we inside the volcano?" He asked her.

"Yep." Rikki replied, casually. "This is where it all started."

Zane looked over at Rikki and noticed she was staring at the pool. He looked at it again and seemed to realize this wasn't just any pool of water. There was something about it that was different, dare he say, magical.

"What happened?" Zane asked.

"Funny enough, it was actually the day I stole your Zodiac." Rikki said, turning her attention back to him. "Cleo and I picked Emma up after her swim practice and we took the Zodiac out to sea but ran out of petrol near Mako. We paddled to the shore but still couldn't get any cell service so we decided to try to get to higher ground. Cleo fell down this tunnel so Emma and I followed to make sure she was okay. We came in here and figured this pool connected to the sea.

"I still can't explain it but when we were all in the pool, the full moon came over the volcano opening and the water starting bubbling and rising upward. We swam out and were taken home by the water police. The next day when we were all around water, we discovered we were mermaids."

It was crazy to Zane that it happened that night. He remembered pushing Cleo out to sea on his Zodiac he was ready to get rid of and he remembered being splashed by that same boat that was suddenly being driven by a girl with blonde hair he didn't know at the time. He remembered his dad tearing him a new one the next day and he remembered going after and threatening Cleo for taking his Zodiac out to Mako. What a dick move that was.

After he took a moment to attempt to comprehend this wild story Rikki had just told him, he looked up to see her reaction. She was still starting at the pool, maybe even thinking it through herself. This wasn't something that happened to just anybody. She looked up to him once she noticed his eyes were on her and gave him a small smile, beckoning him to say something.

"Can..." Zane started. "Can I see it?"

Rikki looked down at the ground and he briefly wondered if he had said the wrong thing. He knew this was a lot for her, to open up to someone this much and he was beyond flattered she was doing it for him. Still, he didn't want to push her too far but he couldn't help his curiosity on the subject.

Rikki looked up at him and gave him a mischievous smile before quickly saying, "sure."

Before Zane could say anything further, Rikki gracefully dove into the moon pool. For whatever reason, Zane wasn't expecting it to be that deep but she completely disappeared for a few seconds. He bent down on his knees and leaned over the edge like a kid would do to a fountain at the mall. Slowly but surely, he saw her moving upward and eventually breaking the surface, her black top and red skirt replaced with an orange, scaly bandeau top and fish tail. The same fish tail he had drawn when he was rescued.

"That's..." Zane started in awe, looking for the best word. "That's amazing."

Rikki smiled up at him as she swam the short distance from the center of the pool to the ledge that was close to the perimeter of the pool.

"Thanks." She replied.

"Was it you that saved me?" Zane asked, hopefully.

"No," Rikki replied. "That was Emma. She's also the one you saw with the red hair. She dyed it but it only stuck when she was a mermaid."

They talked for what must have been hours after that about Rikki's mermaid life. He asked questions and she answered as best as she could. There were still plenty of things about being a mermaid that remained a mystery to Rikki.

"It's getting late." She finally said. "We should head back."

"Yeah," Zane replied. He had since chosen to sit down and dip his feet in the water beside her. "Do you have plans for tomorrow?"

"No," Rikki replied. She was going to hang out with the girls but she needed a day away from them after their conversation earlier tonight.

"Do you want to meet up at the cafe tomorrow?" Zane asked her.

"Sure," Rikki replied. "I'll catch you later."

She went to dive under the water but Zane grabbed her arm and pulled her up for a kiss before she left.

"We should do that more often." He told her once they broke the kiss.

"I suppose we should." She agreed.

He gave her a small smile and then made his way up the tunnel she had taken him down previously. He knew he was falling hard for Rikki when he didn't know anything about her but now that he knew about her mermaid identity, he was falling even harder. Maybe it was her mermaid powers or maybe he just liked her that much. Zane didn't really care to think too much about which it might be. He just knew he would be in trouble if things kept going this way.

Rikki swam out of the tunnel and was going to start propelling to land quickly but the bottom of a boat a few miles away caught her eye. She swam up to the surface to see if it was the boat she saw earlier and saw the same logo she knew belonged to Dr. Denman. Her suspicions were confirmed once she broke the surface. The three girls very well might be in trouble if Denman came poking around again. She was so close to discovering their identity last time, Rikki needed to find out what all Dr. Denman was doing this time.

A part of Rikki knew she shouldn't be doing this by herself and she should at least have the other two girls near her. Another part of her dreaded Dr. Denman showing up at the places they hung out or their homes and interrogating them, placing them in a circus or chopping them up into sushi. She chose to act on the latter as quickly as she could, especially after she saw the red Zodiac speed toward the mainland.

Rikki swam up to the bottom of the boat, still keeping her distance. It was late so she doubted they were working but, who knows, maybe they were doing a night study. She peaked above the surface to see if anyone was on the back of the boat. She didn't see anyone so she dove under the water to check the sides and front of the boat. Unfortunately for her, she might have realized there were people working on the boat if she had stayed above the surface for just a moment longer.

"There's nothing out here." One of the workers on board said as he came around the stern of the boat. "I don't know why Denman has us working these hours."

"Me neither." The other man stated. "They'll start the boat soon and we'll be heading back to the main land."

Rikki knew she was probably too close to the boat and that's when it happened. Before she had a chance to dive a little further, the propellers on the boat's engine turned on and the blades painfully dug into her shoulder. She dove deeper, her vision blurred with red. She must be bleeding a lot and she hoped she didn't attract any sharks. She didn't know if she could use her powers to steer them away right now.

She vaguely heard the motor stop running and she knew she had to find a way to get her shoulder out of the water. She needed to break the surface but she didn't know how to do that without drawing attention to herself. She decided the best way would be to lean as close to the boat as she possibly could.

"What was that?" She heard a man on board yell as he ran by.

"I don't know." Another man responded. "We must have hit something."

"Check the cameras." The first man said. Rikki saw the man walking by the boat and she prayed she could blend in. Unfortunately, her luck seemed to be running out today.

"We hit you?" The man said to her in surprise. It was pretty obvious they had nabbed Rikki with the engine. She was bleeding all over the side of the boat. "What the hell are you doing out here?"

More men headed in her direction and were obviously surprised to find a teenage girl clinging to the side of their boat. Maybe they thought they hit a Mako shark or a large fish. It was dark outside and they only had the dim lights on the boat to help them see. She doubted they could see her tail. They were muttering things she couldn't register but then one man said something that caught her attention.

"Let's get her on board."

No. No, she couldn't get on Deman's boat. She had to go home. There's no way they would let her leave if they pulled her up and saw her tail. They'd experiment on her until she died. Then again, if she dove under the water, she would likely run into a school of Mako sharks and have to fend them off, powerless.

Before she could decide which would be the lesser of two evils, a few men were trying to pull her on board. She knew she was much heavier as a mermaid than she was as a human so they were probably shocked with the weight difference too. She decided then she would rather take her chances with the sharks and tried to dive out of the men's grasp but it was too late. They already had her halfway above the water and they were about to reveal her tail.

Soon, she was on the boat and she saw all the men in black staring at her as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing. She felt as if she might as well have been laying naked in front of them. She desperately wanted to say something or tell one of them to say something but she couldn't find the words. Finally, one of the men spoke.

"I think we should take this one back to Dr. Denman."

Rikki wanted to fight. She wanted to lean over the edge of the boat and dive back into the water. She wanted to beg them not to take her, to just leave her and, if they were feeling generous, bandage her shoulder. Anything but take her to that horrid marine biologist. She couldn't bring herself to do anything as she lay exposed in front of all of Denman's men and felt her vision start to blur.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7

Zane woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. He found his mermaid, he was officially in a relationship with Rikki, he knew nearly all of her secrets, what more could a man want?

Zane looked at his digital clock on the bedside table and saw it only read 8:00. He supposed it might be too early to give Rikki a call so he settled on sending her a good morning text. He got out of bed and looked out to the pool in his backyard. It wouldn't be a bad day to lounge around the pool, he thought. At least until he heard from Rikki and decided when they would meet up at the cafe. He threw on a pair of swim trunks and a t-shirt before going down to the pool.

It was a bit warm outside already so he took a quick dip in the water before he got comfortable on his float. He wondered how cool it must be to be a mermaid. Sure, it came with its trials but swimming in the ocean with the fish, the turtles and the dolphins must be amazing. He found himself slightly jealous of Rikki and the others.

He suddenly found himself getting sleepy again and dozed off on his float. It certainly wouldn't be the first time it happened, nor would it be the last, Zane suspected. However, after what felt like five minutes, he heard his father talking to him.

"I'm off." Harrison started. Zane looked up to see his dad dressed in business casuals with his briefcase in hand. Even on the weekend the man found work to do. "Afternoon consult. While you're lounging around, why don't you clean the pool? Do something more useful with your time."

Zane would have retorted with some smart ass comment but his dad's words 'afternoon consult' caught Zane's ear. It was afternoon already? Rikki had probably texted him back by now or maybe even called him. Miriam or other girls he dated might have blown his phone up if he didn't answer within ten seconds but Rikki didn't seem like the type. She was much more casual.

Zane flipped off the float and swam to the edge of the pool, pushing himself onto the concrete ground. He quickly dried off and checked his phone for any missed messages. He did notice it was already 11:30 and he still hadn't received a text or phone call from Rikki. It wouldn't surprise him if he learned she liked to sleep until noon so he wasn't incredibly worried but he did feel a pit forming in his stomach.

She's probably at the JuiceNet Zane thought. Maybe she forgot to charge her phone last night.

He made his way back inside the house, took a quick shower, threw on some clothes and headed out to the cafe, hoping she would be there. He wouldn't know where else to look besides the moon pool. Still, that seemed like a place she would go to think if something went wrong. He supposed she could have had an argument with her dad or the girls that would have distracted her from meeting up with him but he hoped that wasn't the case. He really just wanted to spend a happy, go-lucky day with his new girlfriend.

He scanned the juice bar once he arrived and was disappointed to see Rikki wasn't there. Maybe she was in the bathroom, he thought. He might as well grab a juice and wait for her. Maybe she was still asleep. Maybe he should try to call her after he finished his juice. Maybe she forgot they were supposed to hang out and met up with the other girls instead. That thought was tossed out the window when he saw Emma, Cleo and Lewis walk into the cafe without Rikki.

After he finished his juice, he gave Rikki a call like he planned to do. Her phone was switched off. That was odd. Rikki hardly ever had her phone switched off. Then again, if she was in the moon pool or in her mermaid form, she probably couldn't answer her phone anyway. Still, he felt the bad feeling sitting in the pit of his stomach grow.

He saw a woman with blonde hair approach Lewis that he didn't recognize. She pulled him away from the two girls to talk to Lewis alone. That was odd too, the woman looked to be in her early thirties; what was she needing with Lewis? Not that Zane didn't feel comfortable asking about Rikki's whereabouts in front of Lewis, but he saw this as a perfect opportunity to see if the girls knew where Rikki was.

"Hey, guys," Zane said as he approached their booth. Cleo looked as friendly as ever, Emma not so much. "Have you seen or heard from Rikki today?"

"No," Cleo replied, her eyebrows furrowing. "We thought she was with you."

Now Zane was really worried. It wasn't like Rikki to not be with either him or the two girls. At least not this late in the day.

"You haven't heard from her either?" Emma asked.

"No," Zane swallowed the frog that was suddenly in his throat. "I've been trying to get a hold of her today but I haven't heard anything. I just called her and her phone's switched off.

"I guess I'll go look for her." Zane said after a moment. "I'll let you know if I find her."

He exited the cafe and headed out to the docks. He should have asked the girls where Rikki lived because he had no idea. The only place he could think to search was the moon pool. She might be at his house but that seemed unlikely unless she was looking for him to meet up at the JuiceNet. Still, he felt Mako was a better place to look.

He hopped on his Zodiac and took off towards Mako. He didn't bother to check the petrol and hoped he had enough to make it to and from Mako. He always loved how fast the Zodiac was but he suddenly found himself wanting it to go faster. He needed to be at Mako now.

He stumbled on the land once he arrived and started running toward the moon pool entrance, hoping he could still find it. He soon arrived at the entrance and slid down the tunnel, and started running as quickly as he could into the entrance of the moon pool.

The crystal blue pool was empty, at least what he could see. Could she hide under the surface? Surely she could breathe underwater so sitting at the bottom of the moon pool likely wasn't difficult for her.

"Rikki?!" He called, not sure what response, if any, he was expecting. He looked over the edge to see if he could see her sitting at the bottom. There didn't appear to be anything in the pool, not even fish that might swim in from the ocean.

Zane exited the inside of the volcano knowing she wasn't here either. Where the hell could she be? He thought about calling her again but was quickly reminded there was no cell phone service on Mako. He instead decided to switch his phone off. He likely had a few missed texts from Nate and his other mates but he didn't want to hear from them. He needed to concentrate on finding Rikki.

As he sped back to the main land, he decided the last place he could look would be his home. It seemed very unlikely but not impossible for her to be there. If she wasn't, he'd go back to the JuiceNet cafe and wait. He didn't know what else to do.

"Zane!" He heard his father yell as soon as he entered. It wasn't how his father typically called his name. He was usually stern and unwelcoming. This time he sounded, dare he say, excited.

Zane entered their main room to see his dad still sitting in his business casuals, briefcase placed on the counter.

"I've been trying to call you." Harrison told his son. Again, he didn't sound upset like he had when Harrison had told Zane about his business lunch to develop Mako weeks ago. He sounded like he was trying to keep an exciting secret.

"I had my phone switched off." Zane replied as he took a seat farther from his father on the large sectional. "What's up?"

"You were right." Harrison told him.

"That's always good news." Zane replied. "Right about what?"

"Mermaids." Harrison replied.

Zane's brain started racing. How could his dad know about mermaids? Had one of the girls accidentally exposed themselves? His dad knew all three girls, he wouldn't be this excited if he knew one or all of them were mermaids. He'd be more confused than anything and he certainly wouldn't be telling Zane until he knew all the facts.

"What?" Was all Zane could bring his mouth to say.

"Yep." Harrison replied. "Now, I know you and your friends have your reservations about the Mako Island development but it is happening-"

"No!" Zane interjected. "You can't develop it. What about all the stuff Rikki said at the lunch?"

"Yes, what she said was exactly that." Harrison said. "Stuff. I already have the wheels turning on the project and intend to make it as eco-friendly as possible, as a compromise to you and your friends."

Funny, we never asked for a compromise. Zane thought. He'd have to talk to Rikki about this as soon as he found her. They might need to start their petition, contact the press and whatever else they need to do sooner rather than later.

"What does this have to do with mermaids?" Zane asked.

"I hired a marine biologist, Dr. Linda Denman, to do studies on the area." Harrison said. "Fish population counts, data analysis, boring stuff really. That was until last night. Her team captured a mermaid right off the coast of Mako last night."

"What?!" Zane exclaimed, standing so quickly from the sectional he felt a bit light headed. The captured mermaid in question had to be Rikki. He had seen Cleo and Emma when his dad would have been at his consult. She had told him they weren't aware of any other mermaids in the area.

He started to feel more and more light headed as he realized this must be her worst nightmare. He didn't know anything about this Dr. Denman but the way his dad had said she 'captured' a mermaid didn't sound like she was a friendly type that would keep Rikki's secret. What were they doing to her? Was she okay? Hell, was she even alive?

"What's the matter, son?" Harrison asked as Zane realized he was pacing the living room. "You've been after this mermaid for ages and you were right about it, this isn't how I thought you'd react."

"Dad," Zane started feeling the frog return to his throat. "Have you seen this mermaid?"

"No," Harrison replied. "Dr. Denman plans on showing me tomorrow after she finishes running some tests. I was able to persuade her to let me bring you tomorrow, if you'd like to come."

Tests? What kind of tests were they running on Rikki? Her life was never going to be the same again. A part of Zane knew he couldn't have known this was coming. He didn't know about this marine biologist until a few minutes ago, he couldn't have protected her but a part of himself cursed himself into oblivion for not keeping his promise. He didn't protect her.

"Why can't we go now?" Zane asked.

"It's late, Zane." Harrison said. Zane had barely noticed the sun was starting to set. "Her labs are closed. We can't very well go barging in there after hours. We'll leave first thing in the morning to see her, I promise."

Zane wanted to say something, anything, to his father but he couldn't find the words. He was pacing the floor again and he could feel tears brimming in his eyes and he knew that was a sign to head up to his room, away from his father. He let the thought sit in his mind; Rikki was in danger and there was nothing he could do about it.

He collapsed on his bed and stared at the ceiling for seconds, minutes or hours, he didn't know which. He remembered his phone was still switched off. He supposed he should check it before the end of the day. Maybe, by some miracle, the mermaid this Dr. Denman had captured wasn't Rikki. Maybe Rikki had texted him hours ago saying she was at the cafe waiting for him. He hoped for some sort of miracle to appear on his home screen.

He missed a few calls and texts from people he couldn't give a flying fuck about at the moment. He deleted the conversations before he came across a text from someone who never texted him. From someone he had briefly spoken to earlier today.

'Rikki's been captured by a marine biologist, the blonde lady at the cafe. We're trying to get as much info as we can. I thought you should know. -Emma'

Zane supposed he had to reply to one text today.

'I'm going to her lab tomorrow. Stay out of it, she might find out about you guys too. I'll take care of it, I promise.'

Chapter Text

Chapter 8

Rikki felt the sun on her eyes and she went to push off the ground before she remembered where she was. They had handcuffed her to the floor of a large lab, the water sprinklers on the ceiling had not stopped running since she had been brought in to the area. Her injured shoulder had a large bandage taped to the back of it, although she suspected they didn't repair it as they should have as it was still in a lot of pain. The inside of her elbows were bruised purple from the amount of time she spent with needles in her veins the day before. She knew they also took from her back so she suspected that was bruised too. She had tried to fight back to one of the men sticking a needle in her arm and he had rewarded her by kicking her in the jaw. On top of that, they had taken a small section from the center of her tail, along where her ankle would be in her human form. She knew she could recover from the bruises and shoulder injury but she wasn't sure what the incision in her tail would mean in her human form. Then again, she wondered if she'd ever been in her human form again.

She had been dumb to go after Denman on her own. She should have brought the others along, but then again, maybe they couldn't have all fought Denman's crew off and they'd all be looking death in the eye. She'd rather it just be her.

She had allowed herself to think of Zane the previous day for a moment. They were supposed to meet up at the cafe yesterday and she had been here, being experimented on like a lab rat. She wondered if he was worried. She wondered if he truly had feelings for her or if his eye caught the Zodiac or he had gotten distracted by Nate and had forgotten about her. It didn't matter. She didn't see how she was going to make it out of this place.

She heard the doors open and knew that must mean Dr. Denman and her team were entering to start a new day of tests. She heard them talking the previous day and she knew they weren't done with her yet. What else could they do besides cut her to pieces?

"Hello, there." She heard Dr. Denman say as she kneeled down to Rikki's level. Rikki didn't say anything all day, wanting Denman to think she was a true mermaid, not at all a normal, Australian, teenage girl. "We've got another day of tests on you and then we'll be heading out to Sydney. We've got some more investors there that are intrigued to meet you."

What did that mean? Rikki wondered. Were they just going to display her somewhere? Would she be in an aquarium for the rest of her life? Or some billionaire's fish tank?

"Better be prepared for today though, too." Denman told her and she stood up. "You'll have some visitors today."

Again, Rikki found herself wondering what Denman meant but she supposed it didn't matter. Her life as she knew it was long over.

Zane woke up early, showered and left the house, hoping he was right about a hunch he had. He needed to do one thing before he went to see Rikki today. Well, that and figure out how to take her out from wherever she was. If this marine biologist was working for his father, she was at least somewhat interested in money. She would likely try to sell Rikki for a fortune. He couldn't let that happen. Rikki never asked for any of this and she didn't deserve it.

As he entered the cafe, he confirmed his hunch when he saw the other two mermaids and Lewis sitting at a booth. They seemed to be discussing something in depth. It didn't look like any of them got much sleep the night before but he supposed he didn't look much better.

"Look, I know you want to help but I can't take you with me." He heard Lewis tell the two girls who sat opposite of him.

"Lewis, this is Rikki," Emma replied. "She's one of us, we can't just leave her there."

"Lewis is right." Zane chimed in. The three at the table looked up at him and he took a seat next to Lewis. It wouldn't do them any good if others in the cafe heard them talking about mermaids.

"What do you want?" Emma asked, all of her defenses clearly up now that Zane had joined the group.

"My dad is Denman's investor." Zane told them.

"What, and you just let them take Rikki?" Emma nearly shouted at him.

"No!" Zane replied back. "I didn't know about any of this until yesterday."

"What do you know?" Cleo asked, quietly. She looked like she had been crying for ages. Zane suspected she likely was. It didn't take a genius to see that she was the most sensitive of the group.

"I know Denman has Rikki." Zane said. "My dad came home excited to tell me about it. I guess he supposed I'd be excited to given...well you know..."

"What does this have to do with Rikki?" Lewis asked.

"My dad and I are going to see her today." Zane said, getting the full attention of the group. "He was able to convince Denman to let me come somehow."

"She's letting me go today too." Lewis said. "I used her lab to do research on the girls last time she was in town. She was interested in it but I don't think she knows about my connection so I think she just wants to show me her discovery, scientist to scientist."

"We should go too." Emma followed him up.

"It's too dangerous." Lewis said. "We don't know if she knows about you two yet, you're not putting your lives in danger for no reason. Besides, now I have back up."

Zane gave him a small smile. It was nice to know he was on Lewis' good side. He wasn't sure where he stood with the other two girls.

"Lewis is right." Zane said. "We can handle Denman and we'll save Rikki. You two should stay put."

"Since when do you care about us?" Emma asked.

"Emma, I've known you since we were three years old." Zane said. "And we met Cleo soon after. I know we've had our differences but do you think I would purposefully put your lives in danger?"

"You don't know what kind of money could come from finding mermaids, do you?" Emma asked.

"You think all I care about is money?" Zane replied with a scoff. "Maybe you don't know me at all."

He stood up from the table, knowing he needed to leave. His father was going to wonder where he was and maybe even leave without him. If he needed to be anywhere in his life, he needed to be at that lab. He did all he could do with the two girls, it was their decision if they were going to go or not. He just hoped he had done enough.

"By the way," Zane started before he left. "If all I cared about was money, why would I be trying to help Rikki?"

Rikki felt the pain of the needle digging into her vein yet again. She'd had blood drawn before and she knew nurses and trained staff would stop if she showed and pain. These people didn't seem to care if they missed her vein. She didn't know how much longer this would go on.

"I'll be back soon." She heard Dr. Denman say to her men. "Our visitors should be arriving any minute now."

Rikki briefly wondered what that meant but she found she didn't care. She had felt like a circus freak from the moment they pulled her from the ocean. She found it difficult to care about anything at the moment.

She was having a hard time keeping track of time. There wasn't a clock she could see in the room, she could only tell if it was night time or day time. She didn't know how long she was laying there before she heard a knock on the display window she was facing away from. It must have been for one of Denman's men. She knew this whole thing was about her but why would anyone need her attention? The knocking continued and she hoped whoever it was for would see what Denman was needing soon because the noise was starting to annoy her.

She saw one of the men come towards her. She thought she would just get another needle to her arm but he grabbed her face and turned her to see the display window. She wasn't expecting Dr. Denman to be alone but she wasn't expecting the other person to be there.

"Lewis?" She whispered to herself.

"I wonder if she said something." Dr. Denman said from the other side of the glass. "We've tried talking to her but we don't think she speaks English."

"M-maybe not." Lewis stuttered. This was not what he was expecting. He had hoped there would be some ethics to how Dr. Denman treated Rikki but it appeared there were none. Mermaid or not, she was still a living creature.

Lewis tried to think how Zane would feel. He and Zane were very different people but if it were Cleo behind the glass instead of Rikki, he'd lose it. Lewis didn't fight but he'd fight for Cleo. Zane would pick a fight for fun. This was not going to end well.

Before he could ask Dr. Denman anything else, the small doorbell she had for that room rang, signaling more visitors. That had to be Zane and his dad.

"I'll get that." Dr. Denman told Lewis. "I have more questions for you about that cell sample you had last time, so don't run off with the mermaid while I'm gone."

"W-wouldn't dream of it." Lewis replied. He looked back at Rikki again. She looked even worse the second time he looked at her. Her eyes were bloodshot, her jaw looked broken, her arms and back were bruised and he hadn't even noticed a small chunk of her tail that was missing. If they couldn't get Rikki out of here, Lewis and Zane could at least report Dr. Denman for all of this. No way this was ethical practice.

Lewis heard the door Denman had just exited re-open. She heard him talking with Harrison, laughing and joking all the while. Lewis prepared himself for the worst with Zane. Would he have to hold him back, keeping him from bursting into Rikki's enclosure? Would he have to keep him from attacking Denman? He had no idea.

Zane felt his heart racing as he entered the small room. He didn't know what to expect. Would she be in a large tank by herself? Would she be locked in a room, somehow continuously sprayed with water so she would stay in her mermaid form? Out of all the thing he had prepared himself for, even the worst ideas, he didn't expect this.

Zane could feel himself going pale as he looked at her. His heart was shattered into a million pieces and he couldn't remember ever feeling this broken. The tears in his eyes followed. He took a big exhale and covered his mouth. He didn't register anything in the area other than Rikki, laying helpless and beaten on the floor in front of him.

He felt Lewis push him out of the room and he vaguely registered his father interrogating Dr. Denman.

"Zane, you need to get it together." Lewis told him once they stopped in a hallway further from the room.

But he couldn't. Couldn't Lewis tell? What if that was Cleo? Then would Lewis be able to 'get it together'. Instead of taking his frustrations out on Lewis, Zane turned around and hit the wall instead. Lewis was his ally. He needed him here and he needed him level-headed.

"I didn't..." Zane started, still facing the wall. "I should have come earlier this wouldn't have happened."

"Zane, you can't beat yourself up like that." Lewis told him. "You don't know when this started. Maybe it wouldn't have mattered if you came yesterday or not."

"I didn't protect her." Zane said, turning to Lewis.

"She's still alive, Zane." Lewis said.

"Yeah, just barely!" Zane shouted back. "Even if we do get her out of here, by some miracle, she's not going to forget this."

"We have to try." Lewis said after a moment. "We can't change what's happened. We have to try to save her now."

Zane nodded after taking in what Lewis said. He was right. Rikki was still alive. They could still help her. He'd be there for her after all of this too. He'd help her return to the firey, sassy girl she was.

"Okay." Zane replied, wiping his tears. He'd usually be embarrassed to cry in front of another man but he knew Lewis understood the circumstances. "What do you suggest we do?"

"Well, it seems elementary but..." Lewis started, pointing to the fire alarm in the corner. "It would give us time alone."

Zane thought for a moment. The fire alarm could work. But what if they didn't buy it? What if they took Rikki with them? How much time would they have to get everything sorted? How were the going to leave with her? Still, he couldn't think of any better plan other than knocking out every person in that room. This seemed less messy though.

"All right." Zane told Lewis. "Let's do it."

Chapter Text

Chapter 9

Rikki was shocked to see Denman had brought in Lewis and Zane. She supposed it made sense. Lewis had been experimenting on them last time Denman was in town and she likely saw a similarity in her cell sample and the one Lewis brought in months ago and wanted to share her discovery with him.

It took her a bit longer to understand why Zane was here but then she realized he was there with Harrison. Denman had said something about an investor. Was Harrison Denman's investor? Maybe he brought Zane along since he was so keen on mermaids. She wondered if this was just a whole ploy put together by the Bennetts. Maybe Zane had tricked her into trusting him when he was planning on selling her off to Denman all along. When she saw the broken look on his face, she supposed that wasn't true. Or did he just not think they wouldn't torture her this much? She needed to pull her trust in him back until she found out what was really going on.

Then again, was she going to be able to find out what was really going on? She saw Lewis push Zane out of the room and was currently watching Harrison yell at Denman. Was she dumb to think she had a chance of making it out of here now that Zane and Lewis had arrived?

Suddenly, she heard a loud siren that she figured was a fire alarm. She heard the door behind her open shortly after that, thinking the men were leaving.

"What about the mermaid?" One of the men asked.

"Leave it," she heard Denman say. "The fire department isn't far and we know the fire isn't here. She'll be fine."

Would she really be? What if Denman was wrong? What if the fire was right next door? She'd be burnt up before the fire department arrived. But maybe that was better than whatever life lay ahead of her as a mermaid.

Rikki watched as Harrison, Denman and her men left the room. She was alone for the first time in days and she somehow felt more nervous than she had before. She wondered if she would be okay like Denman said or if she was in danger.

To Rikki's surprise, she heard the door reopen a few moments later. She didn't think the firemen would be able to get to her this quickly. Then again, her timing had been off the past few days. Maybe it had been a several minutes. That is until she heard two voices she recognized.

"You find the keys to her handcuffs and I'll turn the water off." She heard the voice that belonged to Lewis. She felt a sense of relief flow through her. She was still nervous. Whatever plan they had might not work. What would Denman do to her if it didn't? Or worse, what would she do to them?

Rikki felt and heard the water turn off. The floor beneath her was still wet so it would take a while before she could turn back into a human. Unless she could use her power somehow.

She heard Lewis's footsteps and another pair walking around the wet floor. One pair approached her and she heard he had a set of keys with him.

"Hey," she heard Zane say softly, in a broken voice. "I'm so sorry. I should've-"

"It's okay." She cut him off. She felt her left hand come free of the handcuffs on the ground and heard him move to her right arm. "It's not your fault. I was dumb."

Rikki felt her right hand come free and she sat up and flipped herself over to look around her. She couldn't hold herself up for long due to her shoulder injury and likely the pain in her arms. She settled on propping herself up on her elbows, leaning most of her weight on her non-injured side.

"All right," Lewis started. "We need to get rid of any and all documentation on you, Rikki. I'll take the computers, Zane you look through any papers. Rikki, can you dry yourself off?"

"I think so," she said as she watched the two boys hustle around the lab. She squeezed her hand, watching the water around her evaporate. It was painful but not as painful as she thought it would be. Besides, it would be much more difficult for them to escape with her still in her mermaid form. She needed to be human. How were they going to get her out of here?

Zane seemed to answer that question as the room started steaming up. He noticed a large, black duffle bag sitting in the corner of the room.

"Lewis." Zane started, moving away from the papers. Everything in the lab seemed to be about Rikki.

"What is it?" Lewis asked not taking his eyes off the computer screen.

"We could sneak her out in this." Zane said. The room started to clear of the fog and Rikki felt herself transform back to normal. She could hide in the bag. This plan might actually work.

"All right." Lewis said, not having much of a better plan. "Have you gone through all the papers?"

"Just take everything." Zane said as he grabbed the duffle and threw all the cameras and other equipment onto the floor. "It looks like it all has to do with her anyway."

"Tell me about it." Lewis said. "I'm wiping this computer and then I'll get all the papers."

Zane placed the duffle beside Rikki and helped her move into it. They would certainly have to take her to a hospital after this. Her ankle looked like it got caught in a wood chipper, he could see blood oozing out of her shoulder and her jaw was swollen and bruised, not to mention all the markings on her arms and back. If he didn't know any better, he'd break down again but he knew he had fight through it and get her out of here.

Lewis stuffed all the papers in the duffle bag with Rikki. There wasn't any clear way to quickly destroy them in the lab so the next best solution was to take the papers for themselves. Once they had confirmed the computer was wiped of any information and all the papers on Rikki were in their possession, they needed to figure out the next step in their plan.

"How do we get out?" Lewis asked. "We can't just walk out the front door."

"There's a back way." Rikki replied. "I can show you."

"Rikki, I don't know if that's-" Zane started.

"Well it's not like we've got much of a choice." Rikki said. She was right. He didn't want to risk her being seen by Denman or her henchmen but she was right, he and Lewis didn't know this lab at all. They couldn't be wandering around, hoping the next door would be an exit. They had no other choice.

The two boys left the lab out of another door, Zane carrying Rikki in the open duffle bag. She told them when and where to make turns. It seemed everyone had cleared the building because of the alarm. Zane hoped that was true. He wouldn't know what they would do to Rikki if they found her trying to escape.

Soon, they reached the back door and were outside. They were nearly in the clear. But now what? They couldn't very well take the duffle over to Denman and her crew, they'd probably recognize it, or at the least, wonder why Zane suddenly had a duffle bag when he didn't enter with one.

"Leave me here." Rikki told them.

"What?" Zane exclaimed. "Rikki, that's out of the question."

"Why?" Rikki asked. "You can't take me over to them."

"She's right." Lewis told Zane.

"But-" Zane started. They couldn't really wait here either. Denman and her men needed to see Zane and Lewis again, otherwise they'd know they took Rikki. At least if they showed up with the crowd, they could maybe suspect a fireman took Rikki. They heard the fire truck sirens when Zane thought of an idea.

"I have an idea." Zane said. "We'll leave you here but not for long."

Zane set the bag Rikki was in on the ground and took off with Lewis toward the others.

"Zane!" His father shouted when he saw him. His dad actually looked a bit scared when he arrived. "Where were you?"

"We got lost." Zane said motioning to Lewis behind him.

"Well, I suppose I'm glad your safe." Harrison told him. "The firemen are inspecting the building now. And son... you should know, I didn't know the mermaid was Rikki. I wouldn't have-"

"I know, Dad." Zane said. "It's fine. Speaking of that, I actually need your help."

Lewis couldn't hear what Zane was talking to his dad about. Zane seemed to have a plan though and Lewis needed to trust him with that. Harrison nodded and Lewis saw him place something in Zane's hand.

"All right." Zane said to Lewis as he came back to him. "I'll create a distraction, you go back around and get Rikki. Put her in my dad's car."

Zane dropped the item Lewis saw Harrison give to him in Lewis's own hand. It was a set of car keys. Lewis figured this was as close to the perfect plan they could get. Once Rikki was in the car, she would be free from Denman.

"You can't lose her, Lewis." Zane told him in as serious of a voice he'd ever heard from the rich, bad boy.

"I know." Lewis responded, thinking of how torn up he'd be of he lost Cleo. He couldn't let Zane down. "I won't."

Lewis watched Zane walk away from him and start running into the building. Zane could be cruel but he must have told his dad there was no fire. Still, Harrison played into Zane's distraction and called for his son to come back. The two Bennetts seemed to have thoroughly distracted Denman and her crew. Lewis took off toward the back of the building, making sure he was unnoticed.

Once he reached the back door, he noticed the black bag was still there. Rikki must have closed the zipper after they left to hide from anyone who would come back there.

"It's me." Lewis told her as he picked up the bag and started walking toward Harrison's car. The timing seemed to line up perfectly as Zane and Harrison were exiting the building as Lewis was getting to their car. He opened the trunk, placed the bag inside and quickly closed it. As soon as he turn around, he was able to lock eyes with Zane and both men could see the relief in each other's eyes.

"Well, thank you for your hospitality, Dr. Denman but I suppose I should be getting Zane home." Harrison told the evil doctor.

"Of course," Denman replied, a look of confusion still on her face from Zane's sudden outburst.

"Lewis, do you need a ride home?" Harrison asked as he approached him.

"Yeah sure," Lewis replied. As Harrison and Zane got closer to him, Lewis slipped the keys back into Harrison's possession. The three men walked the short distance to Harrison's car, Zane choosing the front seat for now and Lewis taking the back.

Rikki heard the three men get into the car. She could feel herself shaking with excitement and fear. What if they somehow got caught at the last minute? It didn't really hit her until now how traumatizing everything she had been through was going to be. What if she had nightmares about this? How would she explain this to her dad? The thought of explaining this to just the girls seemed like a daunting task, let alone anyone else. She started to peak out of the duffle bag when she heard a voice that stopped her.

"Not yet." Lewis said. "They can still see us."

She shrunk back to being as small as possible. She felt small. She knew threats existed for mermaids. She had been worried about sharks before but she knew if she cut her shoulder on a boat again, she'd take her chances swimming with said sharks.

"I think we're out of sight." She heard Harrison say. The car turned into a mad house as soon as the final words left Harrison's mouth. Lewis was helping her unzip the duffle bag and Zane jumped into the very back of the car to be with her, taking her in his arms. She grabbed him back, just as fiercely. She had suspected Lewis had awkwardly turned around to face the front.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered to her as he held her.

"Don't," she replied back in a fierce whisper. "You saved my life."

Zane nodded against her, fighting back tears. He could feel her shaking against him which didn't make any of this easier. They'd have to talk about this, about everything but the back of his dad's car didn't seem to be a good place to do it.

"We'll be at the hospital soon," he told her. "They'll take care of you."

Rikki nodded against him. She too was fighting back tears but knew this wasn't the place to break down and cry. She knew he'd want to talk about this but she wasn't sure if she was ready.

AN: To be honest, one of my least favorite chapters I've written so I definitely don't blame you guys if you don't love it. Oh well, at least Rikki is safe now! The next several chapters will dive into Rikki dealing with the aftermath of this ordeal with Dr. Denman so just as a warning. It's not very graphic at all, I don't think but I at least wanted to give a warning before I go any further.

I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far!

Chapter Text

Chapter 10

It didn't take long for Rikki to be checked into the hospital. She saw all the jaws of the receptionists drop when she entered the waiting room and wanted to laugh. She must have looked awful.

Lewis, Zane and Harrison told the hospital staff she had been kidnapped. Rikki supposed that wasn't too far from the truth. Denman and her men had taken her away from her home and held her against her will. She had excepted to have to take a seat in the waiting room but a nurse was sent to lead her back to a room to be examined.

"No!" Rikki found herself exclaiming before she could even begin to think. What was she saying? Of course she should be examined. They could help her.

She felt everyone's eyes on her. She hated being the center of attention. Everything had been about her since she was pulled onto that damn boat...

"I can go with her." She heard Zane tell the nurse. He seemed to read her mind, she didn't want to be alone. Not with strangers. She looked at the nurse and nodded at her as if to say she was okay with that. The nurse gave her a nod back and helped her get set in a wheelchair. Rikki had almost forgotten about her fucked up ankle. She couldn't walk on it but then again, she wondered what all was broken or bruised on her body.

She was pushed by the nurse back to a hospital room where she got situated on a bed. The nurse said she was going to take a few x-rays and would get back to Rikki.

"We called the girls." She heard Zane tell her. She forgot he was in the room. "They're calling your dad. I think they should be here soon."

"All right." Was all Rikki could bring herself to say. She didn't feel like herself. She had a feeling Zane could sense that.

"I mean..." Zane started. "Well, if you don't want visitors I can-"

"No." She cut him off. "No, it's fine."

"Rikki, you don't have to-"

"Zane," she started again. "I said it's fine. Just leave it, okay?"

"Okay." Zane said after a moment.

There was a blank pause again. Rikki still felt like her sense of time was still messed up. She didn't know if seconds, minutes or hours passed before Zane spoke again.

"You know, it's okay to not be okay." He told her. "After all you went through."

"Look," she started after a moment. "I know you're trying to help but... I'm not really in the mood to open up about...her right now."

Zane didn't miss Rikki fighting back before she said 'her'. He couldn't tell if it was tears or rage or what she was fighting back but Denman had done a number on her, that was for sure. At first, Zane thought that would have been impressive but then he thought Rikki might be a little more sensitive that she led on.

"Okay." Zane told her. "What do you want?"

"I..." Rikki started. "I don't know."

Rikki's nurse seemed to have the perfect timing as she came in with an x-ray machine. She had Zane step out of the room, to Rikki's protest. He was able to stand just outside of her hospital window though so she could see him as the x-rays were being performed. The nurse informed her she would be getting this information to the doctor and he would be in soon.

Zane re-entered the room as the nurse left.

"The girls just arrived." Zane told her. "And your dad is on his way if you want any more visitors."

"I guess if they want to see me." Rikki told him.

"Rikki, of course everyone wants to see you." Zane told her. "They've been worried sick-"

"Don't rub it in." Rikki cut him off.

"What are you talking about?" Zane asked.

"Nothing." Rikki said after a moment. "If they want to come back, I guess they can."

"No," Zane put his foot down. "Not with you like this. We'll just wait until the doctor comes in and we'll see how you're feeling then."

Rikki didn't say anything in reply. She was closed up again, like before Zane found out she was a mermaid. No, this was much worse. He had no idea what was going on with her. He had no idea how she had been captured in the first place and what all she endured at Denman's labs. Then again, Zane supposed her irritably was justifiable for once. He had to stumble upon her mermaid identity for her to open up to him. He doubted he was going to be able to just stumble upon any information related to her kidnapping. She would have to open up to him.

The doctor came in a few moments later. He was carrying a clipboard and was followed in by the same nurse from before.

"Hello, Ms. Chadwick." The doctor, English, greeted her. "I'm sorry we couldn't meet under better circumstances and I'm sorry for what's happened to you."

I'm sure she'll love that opening line, Zane thought has he twiddled his thumbs from his chair. Zane didn't miss Rikki's eye roll as Dr. English looked down at his clipboard.

"We ran your x-rays and we do have quite a bit of work to do." Dr. English continued. "Your right ankle is fractured in multiple places. Looks like a bone might actually be missing, but we can always replace that with a metal plate. Your shoulder itself is fine but we do need to perform stitches on the large cut on your back. Your jaw doesn't seem to be dislocated, only bruise so we'll just have to wait for that to heal on it's on and your arms, well, we can't do anything but wait on those to heal on your own as well, unfortunately. We may still need to insert an IV but we will only do it when necessary."

"Do you have to do it at all?" Rikki asked.

"During the surgery we need to perform on your ankle, yes, we do." Dr. English told her. "We need to keep an eye on several items such as-"

"I'm healthy." Rikki cut him off. "I'll be fine."

"Rikki," Zane tried, shaking his head. She didn't look at him.

"We will be back to transfer you to surgery." Dr. English said. "In the mean time, Mr. Bennett, do you think you could follow me out into the halls?"

He saw Rikki shake her head, vigorously in the corner of his eye.

"No," Zane told the doctor.

"Mr. Bennett," Dr. English tried again. "We need to speak to you about Ms. Chadwick's situation when you found her-"

"Well, Ms. Chadwick doesn't want me to leave, does she?" Zane shot back. "I found her with Lewis McCartney. He should be in the waiting room if you have any questions. He knows everything I do."

"Very well." Dr. English said. "I should let you both know we can't have any one in the operating room besides the patients themselves for safety reasons but if you would like to stand outside the window until Ms. Chadwick goes under, that would be fine, Mr. Bennett."

Zane nodded. Rikki still stared at the ends of her feet, popping up from under the blankets.

"Thanks." She muttered to Zane once the doctors left.

"No problem." He replied.

"I don't know why they need to operate now." Rikki said. "I haven't see my dad or Cleo or Emma in what feels like ages."

"I know." Zane said. "But once you're out of surgery, you'll be able to see them for as long as you want."

"That's not true." Rikki said. "There's visiting hours. He's cutting into my time with them."

"Rikki, you're going to have to get these surgeries one way or other." Zane told her. "He's going to cut into your time either way."

Rikki sighed in response. He took that as a sign that he was right but to drop the topic. He looked down at the ground until the nurse came back with a wheelchair for Rikki.

"First, we need you to change into this robe." The nurse told Rikki. "Either I can help you or another nurse-"

"Zane can," Rikki told the nurse without hesitation. Zane felt himself blush at the implication. Rikki had volunteered him to undress her, completely.

"Ms. Chadwick, I'm afraid that's not an option." The nurse told her, looking between her and Zane.

"Rikki, I can stand outside of the door-" Zane tried.

"No!" Rikki shouted. "I'm not letting someone I don't know touch me! Not again."

She got more quiet at the end of her sentence, as if she had shared too much information. Zane shared a look of concern with the nurse.

"All right." The nurse seemed to give in. "Just knock when you're done."

The nurse left the robe beside Rikki's bed, pulled down the curtain on her window and exited the room.

"What was that?" Zane asked.

"I'm..." Rikki started. "I'm sorry. I guess this isn't how either of us had imagined seeing one of us naked for the first time but..."

"It's okay." Zane said. "I'll help you."

"Thanks." Rikki told him. He could tell she was fighting back tears.

He carefully helped her undress. Despite any rumors that had gone around, he was still a virgin and had yet to see a woman naked in person. He had to remind himself now was not the time to lose his mind over Rikki. That was for another time. When her dad wasn't in the waiting room, waiting to hear what kind of shape his daughter was in. When she wasn't covered in bruises and scars and clearly having a hard time grasping reality.

He helped her get into her robe in no time and even helped her get into her wheelchair. He knocked on the door as the nurse had instructed and she came in to push Rikki to the surgery unit.

Once they arrived at the room, Zane watched through the window as the doctors placed her on another bed. He could feel her tense up as they placed an IV in her arm. He could see the pain in her face too. Maybe an IV is what the bruises were from, Zane couldn't know for sure. He watched as she started to fall out of consciousness and he had to remind himself that she was supposed to be asleep for the surgery. This was supposed to happen. Still, he felt like he couldn't catch his breath. He felt like his brain was running a million miles an hour and that his body couldn't keep up. He had the hallucinating thought that it wasn't Dr. English in the operating room, it was Dr. Denman. She wasn't trying to help Rikki, she was trying to profit off of her. She didn't care about her health, she didn't care if she was alive, she just cared that Rikki was a mermaid.

"Mr. Bennett?" He vaguely heard someone say before the world around home went black.

AN: Happy Thursday! I don't think I'll be able to post a chapter on Friday so I thought I'd post this one early. I hope you guys have been enjoying the story so far! For those of you who enjoy these longer stories, get ready because I think this one is going to be much longer than I had anticipated. For those of you who like shorter stories lol sorry.

Thanks again for all the love on this story! I'll be back with a new chapter on Monday!

Chapter Text

Chapter 11

Zane felt himself wake up. He was outside of Rikki's room as she was starting her surgeries but now he could tell his was on a bed. How did that happen? More importantly, was Rikki okay?

Zane shot up from his bed at the thought. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he realized he wasn't in the room alone. There was a nurse at the foot of his bed and his dad had his hand on Zane's shoulder. Zane felt he was breathing hard which seemed to be the only thing that made sense. The last thing he remembered standing outside of Rikki's operating room was that he couldn't catch his breath.

"It's all right, son." He heard his dad tell him. Zane felt him gently pushing him back onto the bed and Zane complied. He was still as confused as he had ever been.

"What happened?" Zane asked the room, not really caring who answered.

"You had a panic attack." The nurse replied. "We found you outside of Ms. Chadwick's operating room, starting to hyperventilate and you passed out soon after."

"Rikki," Zane muttered, more to himself than anything. "How is she?"

"She's in recovery." The nurse told him. "Her surgeries were successful as were the stitches on her shoulder."

"I need to see her." Zane said, trying to move out of the bed before the IV's in his arms pulled him back. He let out a cry of pain.

"Zane," his father warned him. "You need to stay here for now. Once you're cleared, you can go see Rikki."

"Is she alone?" Zane asked in a worried tone. She was so hesitant for him to leave her side, he wondered if she woke in a complete state of panic when he wasn't there.

"No," the nurse replied. "She's with her father and three friends. She had asked for you when she woke but we let her know your current state."

Great, Zane thought. Just what Rikki needed.

"We'll monitor your heart rate for another hour, Mr. Bennett." The nurse told him. "If it stays normal, we can discharge you and you can go see Ms. Chadwick."

"All right." Zane responded. "Thanks."

Really, he wanted to fight against the nurse, let her know he was already awake and fine and that Rikki needed him. He was glad she was at least with her family and friends. He could only imagine how that was going. The girls didn't have many secrets from each other and they'd surely want to know what Denman had done to Rikki but he figured she wasn't ready to open up to anyone yet.

Zane briefly wondered when Rikki was going to be ready to talk about it. He knew he was incredibly curious, stubborn and, generally, didn't seem to care if he hurt someone's feelings to find the truth. That all changed with Rikki. He cared for her deeply and as much as he did want to know the truth of what happened to her with Denman, the last thing he wanted was to hurt her feelings.

"You really like this girl, don't you?" Zane heard his dad ask him. Wasn't it obvious? Zane thought. He'd never had a panic attack before.

"Yeah," Zane muttered back.

"I figured." Harrison replied. "When they called me and told me you had a panic attack I almost didn't believe them. It's not like you to be this aware of your feelings."

"I suppose not." Zane replied.

"Zane, I don't mean to sound...unhappy." Harrison started. Here was the kicker. It wasn't like his dad to be this nice, especially not when Rikki was involved. "My dream for you always consisted of you running the business one day and falling in love with the right girl. Now, if you care for Rikki that much, I won't stand in your way but son... she's dangerous."

"How?" Zane shot back in an accusing tone. How dare his dad come after Rikki like that?

"Zane, look around you." Harrison said, motioning around the room. "We're in a hospital because of her."

"We're in a hospital because of the marine biologist you hired." Zane corrected him.

"You think Denman is the only marine biologist that would jump at the chance to profit off a mermaid?" Harrison asked. "Any marine biologist I would have brought in would have done the same thing."

"Maybe you're the problem, then." Zane accused his father.

Harrison took a deep breath before resuming the conversation with his son.

"I'm not arguing, Zane." Harrison said. "I'm just saying, she'll have people after her for the rest of her life. Again, if you truly want to be with her I won't stop you but-"

"Really?" Zane interrupted. "Because that's exactly what it sounds like you are trying to do."

Harrison sighed again, looking down at the floor and shaking his head. Zane knew the argument was over.

"You need to keep your vitals down." Harrison told him. "Arguing with me won't help. Give me a call when you're ready to leave."

Harrison picked up the coat at the end of the room and exited the hospital room. Zane figured his dad must have known he was going to see Rikki after this, otherwise he would have stayed. Zane checked his watch and saw thirty minutes had passed. That would have been just enough time for his dad to drive home and then turn around and drive back to the hospital.

Despite their argument, his dad must have been opening up to the idea of Rikki being around for a while. Zane didn't know if he was genuinely opening up to the girl or if he felt bad about caging her up with Denman. Zane wasn't planning on letting Rikki go anytime soon so he supposed it would be easier if his dad did warm up to her.

Zane grabbed his phone at the thought of Rikki. He wondered if she had it on her or if Denman had destroyed it or what had happened to it. He wondered if she had it, if she would check her text messages. Still, he thought he'd send her one to let her know he was okay and that he was sorry for leaving her alone. He was a bit surprised when she texted back almost instantly saying it was okay and she was glad he was okay.

The next thirty minutes were the longest of Zane's life. He did his best not to get lost in his own head and raise his vitals or worse, trigger another panic attack. He knew if he let himself get lost in everything that had conspired over the last twenty-four hours, he'd spiral. Eventually, his nurse came back in, checked his vitals and let him know he was free to go.

Zane roamed the halls until he found a directory by a window. He looked outside and saw it was pitch black. He supposed visiting hours were over but he had at least try to see Rikki tonight. He quickly located the recovery department on the directory and headed off in that direction. He soon arrived at a desk where he noticed the receptionist must have been packing up for the night.

"I was needing to know what room Rikki Chadwick is in." Zane told the nurse. He hoped a stern face would allow him entrance to Rikki's room. Then again, this was a hospital and he was requesting to see a patient who had been kidnapped so maybe a stern look wasn't the best idea.

The receptionist looked like she was going to tell him off until she looked down at his wrist and saw the band he still had on from his short stay after his panic attack. She sighed slightly and checked her records.

"She's in room 623." The nurse told him. "Just down that hall."

"Thanks." Zane replied as he ran down the hall trying to locate room 623. He quickly found it and saw a pretty, blonde girl through the window, staring at the end of her bed. It was late wasn't it? Shouldn't she be asleep?

Zane opened the door, figuring he was welcome. He was surprised she was alone in her room. Maybe that's why she was still awake.

"Hey," Zane started as he closed the door behind him. "Where did everyone go?"

"Home." Rikki replied, simply. "Visiting hours are over."

"Ah." Zane replied, stuffing his hands in his pockets and shutting the window. He didn't really want to leave as long as Rikki was okay with him staying.

"How did you get in?" She asked him.

"I don't really know. I guess the receptionist thought I was a patient or something." Zane said, motioning to his wrist band.

"Hm." Rikki replied. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." Zane said. "They kept me for an hour after I woke up and my vitals were good so they let me go."

"Good." Rikki said, quietly.

"How about you?" Zane asked as he moved to take one of the seats beside her bed. "How do you feel?"

"I've been better." Rikki replied. "But I've been worse. They have to keep me in the hospital for a few days so I can rehab some of these stupid injuries."

Zane saw her eyes glass over. She moved a hand up to vigorously wipe any tears that would fall away. Rikki was always a little bit broken. Oddly enough, Zane supposed that was one of the reasons he was attracted to her in the first place. Rikki had depth. She wasn't just some mannequin like the other girls he dated, but this was a new level of broken for Rikki. He still cared for her and he wouldn't, no, he couldn't let her down. He just wondered how long it would take for her to heal.

"I can stay." Zane told her. "If you want."

"Please," she replied not even a split second later. "Sorry, I... I just don't want to be alone."

"Okay." Zane said softly. "I'll stay."

"What about your dad?" Rikki asked.

"Screw him." Zane replied with a small smile.

"He won't be worried about you?" Rikki asked.

"I don't really care." Zane told her as he pulled out his phone to switch it off. He assumed his dad would be expecting for Zane to stay at the hospital for a few hours anyway. He'd call him when he left.

Then, Zane realized what Rikki meant by 'stay'.

"Oh, you mean stay here all night?" Zane asked.

"You don't have to." Rikki said as she returned to staring at the end of her bed. "I don't want you to get in trouble or... if you just don't want to."

"No, I'll stay." Zane replied.

"You will?" She asked, returning her eyes to him.

"Yeah." Zane replied. "If that's what you want of course."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" She asked him. Zane was surprised at the question.

"What are you talking about?" Zane asked with a confused smile. "I care about you, Rikki. I want to be here for you."

"I know." Rikki replied. "I guess sometimes I can still see you as the boy who pushed Cleo out to sea on your Zodiac."

"I've changed." Zane said, simply.

Rikki simply smiled at him and looked down at her hands as she twiddled her thumbs. Zane took a closer look at her and realized how tired she looked. He figured she must not have slept well in Denman's lab, if Denman allowed her to sleep. This was her first night in a bed since she had told him she was a mermaid.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" Zane asked her.

"You'll stay?" Rikki asked him in response.

"Of course," Zane replied. "I'll sleep on this chair."

"No," Rikki responded. "You don't have to do that."

"Where else am I supposed to sleep?" Zane asked.

"Well," Rikki started as she moved closer to one side of the bed. "You could always join me."

"You're sure?" Zane asked after a moment.

"I'm sure." Rikki nodded. "I think it would make me feel safer, to be honest. But if you'd rather-"

"No," Zane replied. "No, I'll stay with you."

Zane walked over to the other side of the bed, half expecting Rikki to change her mind or tell him she was joking, but she didn't. Not when he pulled the covers back, not when he kicked off his shoes, not when he laid down beside her, draping an arm around her and getting as close to her as he could. These beds really weren't meant for two people, he supposed.

"Thank you," he heard her mutter as she grabbed his arm that was laid over her. "For everything."

"No problem." Zane replied. He felt her start to shake against him and he wondered if he should say anything or ask if she was okay. Rikki wouldn't say anything if she didn't want to. He doubted this was when she wanted to open up about everything. Instead, he decided to pull her closer to him. He felt her take a big breath and melt against him. It all made his heart explode with love and fear. He worried about Rikki, especially after everything that had happened to her. Would she ever be the same again or would she constantly be in fear of another Dr. Denman or haunted by her presence? Still, apart of himself found he didn't really care if she ever went back to her normal self. He'd still be here for her, like he always had.

Holy shit, was he falling in love with her? Zane didn't get much time to think about this as he felt sleep take him away. He could tell Rikki had drifted off shortly before he did.

Zane was awoken by the sun shining into their room. He wondered why he wasn't in his own bed at first but then remembered he had fallen asleep at the hospital with Rikki. He looked down and saw she was still fast asleep. He was happy she seemed to be able to get a good night's rest this past night. She deserved it.

As much as he wanted to stay, he knew he should probably leave before a doctor or nurse came in. He gently pulled his hand out of hers and turned over only to be surprised to find he wasn't alone.

"Good morning, sunshine." Lewis said with a mischievous smile.

"Lewis?" Zane asked, as if he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

"Have a good night's sleep?" Lewis asked.

"It's not what it looks like, Lewis." Zane started.

"Sure, sure." Lewis replied as he took a sip of whatever was in the cup beside him.

Just then, the door opened and two more people entered.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty." Emma teased him.

"Ha ha." Zane replied. "I already told Lewis, it wasn't what it looked like. Rikki asked me to sleep with her."

"I think it's sweet." Cleo said, taking a seat behind them.

"Yeah, thanks." Zane replied. He knew it was a compliment but he could remember the last time someone described him as 'sweet'.

"Yeah." Cleo said. "Glad you woke up before her dad got here too."

Fair point, Zane thought.

Chapter Text

Chapter 12

Rikki was thankful her friends were able to stay with her while she recovered. She knew it wasn't healthy to need someone she knew around her at all times but she really didn't care at the moment. She had started rehabbing, mostly her ankle and her shoulder, and that was her priority. Maybe she felt that way because she knew her physical injuries would be easier to treat than whatever mental scars Dr. Denman had left on her.

She was happy to see everyone, even Emma, seemed to be opening up to the idea of Zane being around. He had been nothing but caring and compassionate towards her since she had told him she was a mermaid. She had also been thankful for him. He made all of this at the least, bearable. She hadn't dare told her dad that Zane was spending the nights with her. Zane would leave her room with the girls, Lewis and her father after visiting hours were over but Zane would sneak back in about twenty minutes later. Rikki suspected he had some sneaking out to do on his own. If she was sure her dad was uncomfortable with the idea of Zane being around, Harrison would definitely be more than uncomfortable to learn his son was sneaking out to spend the night with her. The hospital staff seemed to know what was going on but nobody must have mentioned anything to at least Rikki's dad. She wasn't sure if the girls and Lewis knew about Zane's nightly visits yet or not.

It was Rikki's third night in the hospital when she had her first nightmare about Dr. Denman. Rikki was chained to the cold floor again. She looked to the window to see her two saviors were there, only they didn't look nearly as disturbed as they had previously. They looked, dare she say, happy.

"Nobody cares about you." She heard Zane say to her. "It doesn't matter if you die."

"You were always the odd on out." Lewis said this time. "Cleo and Emma will be happy you're gone. I know I will be."

Their voices were cold and almost robotic. Rikki felt the tears in her eyes. No, Zane was her boyfriend, he cared about her. Cleo and Emma were her best friends, of course they would miss her if she died. Lewis was their confidante, he was always there to help all three of them if they needed it. Then again, maybe none of that was true. Zane was a good-looking, rich, bad boy, he could have any girl he wanted. Why would he choose to be with a freak like her? Cleo and Emma had been best friends long before she barged into the picture with a tail identical to theirs. Lewis was an extension of Cleo, he didn't have to help Rikki. He didn't owe her anything.

"Glad your own friends don't care about you." She heard the marine biologist behind her. "It'll make selling you off a lot easier."

Rikki felt herself fly off the floor and into what must have been the back of a truck. The doors closed and she was locked in the dark. She banged on the doors and screamed for help but a part of her knew nothing would ever arrive. Her friends didn't care about her.

Suddenly, she heard Zane calling her name. He was quiet but his voice was full of concern. She had to find him, maybe he could help her out of the truck. Maybe he could save her from wherever Denman and her crew were taking her.

"Rikki!" She heard before she snapped her eyes open. Zane was hovering over her and she felt like she had just run a marathon. She remembered Lewis and Zane had recused her from Dr. Denman. She was free. She was in the hospital recovering from her injuries. She was okay.

"Are you all right?" Zane asked as he pushed her bangs out of her face.

Rikki nodded. "I'm fine." She said. Her voice was unexpectedly broken so she took a second to clear her throat. "It was just a nightmare."

"What was it about?" Zane asked.

"Nothing." Rikki replied. "I don't really want to talk about it but I'm fine. Let's just go back to sleep."

Zane didn't protest although she could tell he wanted to. He must know her well enough to know she wasn't going to open up about anything until she was ready. Either that or he didn't want to have a fight with her at midnight.

Rikki rolled back onto her side so her back was facing Zane. He draped his arm back over her like he usually did. She grabbed onto that arm and held it as tightly as she could and pushed herself as close to him as possible. He had to have known whatever this nightmare was, terrified the hell out of her but she didn't care. She couldn't force herself to be independent if she wanted to.

"A nightmare?" Emma asked the next day in the cafeteria. She was joined by Cleo, Lewis and Zane, the latter had just told them about Rikki's nightmare the night previous.

"What was the nightmare about?" Cleo asked.

"I don't know." Zane replied. "She wouldn't tell me. You know how Rikki is."

"Did she say anything in her sleep?" Lewis asked.

"Not really." Zane replied. "She kept mumbling 'no' and 'help' and..."

"What?" Cleo asked after a moment.

"My name." Zane said. "Right before she woke up."

"Maybe she was asking you to help her from her nightmare." Emma said. "Which you did."

"Yeah maybe," Zane said.

"You don't think so?" Emma asked.

"It's just..." Zane started. "A part of me wonders if she trusts me. I know she cares for me and all but after Denman... I don't know."

"Of course she trusts you." Cleo told him. "She told you the secret."

"No, I just sort of found out." Zane said. "The only thing she showed me was everything at Mako. I thought we were getting somewhere and she'd feel like she could trust me with everything, but after all this... it just feels like she's taken two steps backwards. Not just with me but with all of us. You all know she's not okay."

"No, she's not." Emma said after a moment. "But that's why we all have to be there for her. She'll be back to the stubborn, sassy Rikki we all knew soon if we work together to help her."

Emma was right. It might take a long time but eventually this will all just be a bad memory to Rikki. He heard time heals all wounds and he certainly hoped that was true.

The gang left the cafeteria a few minutes later and headed back to Rikki's room. They were surprised to see her dad standing outside room with Rikki's doctor.

"Well, I will let you talk to Rikki about it then." They heard doctor tell Terry Chadwick before walking off.

"Talk to Rikki about what?" Zane asked the older man once the doctor was out of ear shot.

"Well, I'm glad you all are back," Terry started. "I might need some help."

"Help with what?" Cleo asked him.

"Rikki's doctor thinks she should go to therapy." Terry told them. "To talk about her experience and heal from it."

"I think that's a great idea." Emma said.

"Yeah, but opening up about your feelings and experiences?" Zane said. "Rikki? I don't think so."

"I agree with you both." Terry said. "But maybe with your help, we can convince her to go."

The group re-entered Rikki's hospital room. She looked up to all of them with a small smile on her face. She was playing the tough guy like she always did.

"Hey, guys," she said as they all took their seats or stood by her bed. "What did the doctor say, Dad?"

"He said you are recovering well and should be okay to return home tomorrow." Terry told his daughter.

"Well that's good news." Rikki told them. "Soon things will be back to normal and you all don't have to spend all day in a hospital."

"He also mentioned he thinks you should go to therapy." Terry told her.

Rikki's smile dropped off her face. She looked like she had seen a ghost.

"What kind of therapy?" She asked, maybe wondering if it was something to do with her ankle or her shoulder.

"The kind where you talk to someone and open up about your feelings and experiences." Terry said.

Rikki looked around the room to see stern looks on everybody's face. She burst into giggles. That wasn't the reaction anyone had been expecting.

"That's funny." She said. "Great suggestion, doc. You told him no, right Dad?"

"Actually, I think it would be a good idea." Terry said. "I bet your friends do too."

"You all are worrying too much." Rikki said. "I'm doing fine, I just need to wait for this ankle and my shoulder to heal and I'm as good as new."

"What about your nightmare?" Lewis piped in.

"What nightmare?" Terry asked.

"The nightmare-" Lewis started before Zane rammed his own foot into Lewis' as discreetly as possible. Her dad couldn't know Zane had been spending the nights.

"The nightmare you said you had last night." Lewis finished.

"You didn't say anything about a nightmare." Terry told Rikki.

"It's not important." Rikki defended. "We all have nightmares, don't we?"

"Rikki, come on," Emma tried. "We all know you're not doing well and that's okay."

"Yeah," Cleo chimed in. "Anyone in your position would be rattled."

"Well, thanks for your concern but I'm fine." Rikki said. "Really, I am. I don't need therapy so you can tell the stupid doctor to forget it."

"Fine." Terry replied. "I'll tell him we're thinking about it."

"Not much to think about." Rikki sulked as she crossed her arms.

"I just think you should is all." Terry told her. "For me."

"Fine." Rikki replied after a moment.

"Good." Terry said. "I have to head off to work, I'll be back to visit before visiting hours are over."

"Yeah, and we should be heading to school." Emma said. "We'll see you later."

Rikki nodded at everyone as they left. Zane stayed rooted to the corner of her bed.

"Zane?" Lewis asked. "Are you coming?"

"Go on." Zane replied. "I'll catch up with you later."

Zane took a seat close to Rikki once the others had left. Rikki wondered what he wanted to talk to her about. Hopefully he wouldn't push the therapy subject but she didn't think she was going to get that lucky.

"What's up?" Rikki asked him, her eyebrows furrowed.

"I just wanted to spend some alone time with my girlfriend." Zane replied.

"Funny," Rikki replied with a small laugh. "I forget I'm someone's girlfriend sometimes."

"That's fair." Zane replied. "After all you have been through."

"What do you think of the whole therapy idea?" Rikki asked him.

"I agree with everyone else." Zane said. "But I think you should go in your own time."

"Really?" Rikki asked.

"Yeah," Zane replied. "What would an hour long session look like with you not wanting to open up anyway? Just you starting at the wall? It wouldn't be a good use of anyone's time."

"It's not entirely that I don't want to go." Rikki said. "It's just that... well what am I supposed to tell them? I was kidnapped by a marine biologist because I'm a mermaid?"

"Not everyone wants to hurt you, Rikki." Zane told her. "There are people who care about you and wouldn't want to harm you."

"Yeah, I know." Rikki said. She felt tears coming to her eyes. She was so tired of crying. She never used to cry.

"It doesn't seem like you have to decide today," Zane started. "But you really should think about it at least."

"Okay," Rikki replied. "I will."

"Good." Zane said, standing from his chair and leaning down to give her a kiss. He was a bit surprised when she deepened it and placed a hand on his cheek. He felt his heart soar and he knew it would be a good day.

"I'll catch you later." Zane told her as he moved out of the room. He wished he could ditch school and stay with her but he had done that enough lately. Rikki would be okay. She had to be.

Chapter Text

Chapter 13

Rikki had been released from the hospital as scheduled. She returned to school the next week and anyone that wasn't in their close circle would have figured she was back to normal, aside from the crutches she had to use.

However, her close friends knew she was far from her normal self. She could stand to be alone for a short amount of time and didn't have an issue going being in gatherings. Still, they found she was triggered by certain things. She and the girls had been walking along the beach one day when they walked past a fisherman who had just caught a large tuna. The fish was flopping on the line and Rikki saw him put the fish in a cooler and give her a small smile. She held it together for a few moments but collapsed for a brief moment later down the beach. Emma and Cleo agreed to keep this incident a secret as long as it didn't happen again. That was until they found out she was still spending nights with Zane, changing between sleeping over and his place and him sleeping over at hers.

They told Zane in the juice cafe a few days later. He had been upset and was planning on talking to her about it tonight, before her dad got home. She still didn't want to go to therapy even though everyone around her was pushing for it. Zane had thought she should take her time going to therapy but she only seemed to be getting worse and worse.

Zane arrived at his house, hoping to find it empty as it usually was. It was only 5:00, his dad wouldn't be home yet. He dropped his bag off on a coat hanger by the stairs and went up to his room. He waited for a few hours and hoped that would be enough for his dad to think he was upstairs by himself. He maneuvered out of his window and took the fire escape down to the ground level as he took off to Rikki's house.

He carefully moved around the small trailer as to not get Terry's attention. He had asked Rikki how her dad might react if he found out Zane had been spending the nights and she said she wasn't sure. They didn't want to risk anything though, if they did get caught and he reacted poorly.

He reached her bedroom and was surprised to see her sitting in her bed, staring at her television. It was only 7:00, did she get ready for bed this early? He disregarded that thought and gently tapped on the window. She got up and opened it for him so he could crawl inside.

"You're early." She told him.

"I can leave if you want." Zane joked, he thought rather obviously.

"No," Rikki replied seriously, as if he had said he was leaving at 11 instead of 7. "No, stay."

"Okay." Zane told her. "I'll stay."

Rikki curled up into her bed and Zane joined her after he moved his bag to the corner of the room and removed his shoes. She leaned into him as she often did. They were thankful they both had bigger beds than the hospital one. It was much easier for them to sleep in beds meant for more than one person.

"So do you want to talk about what happened to you today with the fisherman?" Zane asked. He figured it was better to talk about this sooner rather than later.

Rikki sighed, heavily. "They told you?" She asked.

"Well, you didn't tell them I was still spending the nights with you so they felt it was important I know." Zane told her. "I worry about you."

"I don't want you to." Rikki told him.

"I know, but I can't help it." Zane said. "Don't tell me you wouldn't feel the same way if our roles were reversed."

"I guess you have a point." Rikki said after a moment. "I couldn't even tell you what happened. He caught a fish like any other fisherman."

"Like Denman caught you?" Zane asked.

"Zane," he felt her start to shake against him. "I don't want to talk about that woman."

"You'll have to talk about it eventually." Zane told her.

"I don't want to do it right now." Rikki said. "In fact, I'm a bit tired why don't we go to sleep?"

"Have you given therapy any more thought?" He asked.

"Zane-" she started.

"I know you don't want to go." Zane cut her off. "But I think it would be beneficial for you."

"What happened to not going until I opened up?" Rikki asked.

"That would be fine under normal circumstances." Zane said. "But this isn't normal. It's not normal for you to start shaking every time someone mentions Denman. You're scaring the hell out of me, Rikki."

"I'm going to sleep." She said, flopping over so she was facing away from him. Whether or not she went to sleep at that time, Zane didn't know but he found himself drifting off a few hours later.

He was awoken again by the shaking of the bed. It was still dark outside so something else had to have woken him up. It didn't take him long as the source of the shaking started moaning calls of "help" and "no".

"Rikki?" Zane said, softly as he shook her shoulder. She usually woke up after a few moments of him shaking her. She'd had a few more nightmares since the one in the hospital. This one was different. Rikki moved further away from Zane when she usually melted into him before she woke up. Her protests continued and she started to get louder and louder.

"Rikki!" Zane tried again, trying his best to remain quiet so Terry wouldn't catch him but still trying to talk loud enough Rikki could hear him over her protests. "Rikki, please. It's just a nightmare."

Her subtle moans and groans were now clearly audible and only getting louder. Unless her dad was the type to sleep through the worst thunderstorm, he'd likely hear her soon. However, that wasn't Zane's main concern at the moment. He'd always been able to wake Rikki up from her nightmares but now he felt hopeless.

She let out a blood curdling scream and her dad had bursted into her room a few moments later. Zane was ready to make up some excuse or at least make sure Terry knew it wasn't him that was causing Rikki this pain. Terry ignored Zane as if he wasn't even there and bent down beside his daughter.

"It's a nightmare." Zane told the man. He had no idea if Terry could tell. Rikki let out another scream as the two men tried to wake her up. She took a huge breath in before her eyes snapped open. Her nightmare had been awful. For the first time in several days she wished she was alone. She couldn't help the tears that suddenly flew and the sobs that escaped her mouth as soon as she took in her surroundings. It was embarrassing.

Terry collected her in his arms as Zane settled beside her, taking in what had just happened. She was not okay, not in the slightest. He hated seeing her like this with every fiber in his being. He hated more she didn't want to do anything to help herself.

Rikki's crying settled down after a moment and Terry released his hold on his daughter. She wiped the last of her tears on the back of her hand as she looked between the two men.

"Sorry." She muttered as she collected herself.

"It's nothing to be sorry for." Zane told her.

"Rikki, do you mind if I have a word with Zane in the living room?" Terry asked her. Uh oh. What did Terry want to talk to him about?

"Um... no." Rikki replied. "No, that's all right."

"We won't be long, sweetheart." Terry said as he left the room and Zane got out of the bed, closing her bedroom door behind him.

"Look, Mr. Chadwick-" Zane started before the older man cut him off.

"If you're going to try to explain why you've been spending every night with Rikki since the incident, forget it." Terry told him. "I've known for a while now."

"You-you have?" Zane asked.

"Yeah," Terry said. "You think your friends were the first ones to see you cuddled up in the hospital bed after the first night? And the trailer is pretty small, I heard you come in the first night she was back and heard her leave the next night. I assume to your place?"

"So you're okay with it?" Zane asked.

"As long as all that's happening between the two of you is sleeping, sure." Terry replied. "You can start using the front door if you'd like."

"Thanks." Zane said.

"I did want to talk to you about Rikki some more." Terry started. "I just wonder if she's told you anything about the... experience."

"No," Zane said. "No, I don't think she's ready yet."

"Yeah, well I'm not too sure about you but I don't really care if she's ready now or not." Terry said. "Has she been having nightmares?"

"Yes," Zane said. "Never like that though."

"Hm." Terry said. "Anything else I should know about my daughter?"

Zane questioned if he should let Terry know about the incident with the fisherman. It probably wouldn't make any sense to Terry. Zane was pretty sure Terry had no clue about his daughter's mermaid identity and Zane didn't want to be the one to tell him.

"No," Zane replied. "Nothing as far as I know."

"All right," Terry said after a moment. "I'm off to bed. You can tell Rikki if you'd like that I'm calling the therapist her doctor recommended tomorrow. If she wants to stare at the wall all session that's fine but I'm not letting this get any worse."

Zane didn't miss the man's voice breaking at the end of his sentence. Zane was hurting himself from all that had happened to Rikki, but he couldn't imagine how her father felt.

"Get some sleep, son." Terry said as he walked off to his own bedroom.

Zane took a moment before he re-entered Rikki's room. She was still sitting on her bed with her arms crossed.

"Hi," Zane said as he entered.

"Dad's right." Rikki said. "It's a small trailer."

"So you heard everything?" Zane asked.

Rikki gave him a nod as he saw more tears falling down her face. He immediately moved to take his spot on the bed beside her.

"I'm so tired of crying." She said as she wiped her tears away. "I'm tired of not feeling like myself."

"I know," Zane said. "And I'm sorry you've had to deal with this. But I think- we all think therapy would help."

"I'm beginning to think you're right." Rikki sighed. "I'm sorry I got upset with you earlier."

"That's okay." Zane said.

"I'll go." Rikki told him. "And I'll open up the best I can."

"Good." Zane replied as he took her in his arms. "So do you want to sleep or talk?"

"I think I'll take the sleep option." Rikki yawned. Zane chuckled before falling asleep with her in his arms.

Zane woke up early and returned to his home. He didn't want his dad to be too suspicious of him or come up to find his room empty. He and Rikki had been sleeping together for a few weeks now, they were pros at timing. Zane took a quick shower before heading downstairs to get some breakfast and get ready for school. His dad usually wouldn't say anything to him but Zane heard his name as soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs. He hoped he hadn't been caught last night.

"What is it?" Zane asked as he arrived, leaning against the sectional.

"I wanted to talk to you about your schooling." Harrison started. Zane didn't expect this. What was wrong with his schooling? He wasn't getting straight A's but he wasn't failing any of his classes either. His father never seemed upset if this was the case. Was he suddenly expecting Zane to be the brightest kid in school?

"What about my schooling?" Zane asked.

"I've been thinking about the benefits of public versus private schools." Harrison said. "After weighing the options I think you are better off in a private school. You'll finish the term here and then we'll move you to Briton Academy."

"No." Zane scoffed. He knew he wasn't being asked and likely didn't have much of a say in this but he had to make sure his father knew where he stood. A year ago, he might not have fought so hard but now he had Rikki in addition to his good friends. She needed him.

"I wasn't really asking, Zane." His father told him. "We've already sent an application over."

"Well, withdraw it." Zane said. "I'm not switching schools."

"Again, I wasn't asking." Harrison told him.

"Why do I have to switch schools?" Zane asked. "I'm doing well in all my classes and I've made a lot of good friends at school."

"It's not like we're moving, Zane." Harrison said. "You can still hang out with your friends after school."

"So this is about my friends then?" Zane asked, noticing his dad hadn't mentioned anything about his grades. "This is about Rikki."

"Zane, I worry about you." Harrison told him. "She's going to be in a lot of danger more than just this one time. I don't want you to get involved."

"I don't care." Zane replied.

"Well maybe one day when you'll have children of your own, you will." Harrison told him. "I can't stand the thought of losing you. I mean after your mum... after she left, you're all I have left."

"Well, throwing me in private school isn't going to help anything." Zane said, crossing his arms.

"You'll meet new friends." Harrison said. "I'm sure there will be some great people there."

"I already have great people here!" Zane yelled. "I have Rikki and Lewis and Emma and Cleo. They're all good people."

Harrison took a deep breath. Zane knew he did this when he was trying to calm himself down. He wished he wouldn't. He wished Harrison would meet his level of frustration.

"We'll talk about this after school." Harrison said. "You'd better be off or else you'll be late."

Zane couldn't help but think about the private school conversation he had with his dad that morning. He tried to be his normal self but he sensed he wasn't doing a good job. The whole idea irritated him and he swore he could feel his blood boiling all day. He didn't have a say in the matter. He was happier than he had ever been at this school. He wasn't recklessly crashing his water toys anymore. He felt like he had changed so much since dating Rikki, changed for the better. He did his homework and his chores, he was much more responsible than he had been before. Why would his dad want that to change?

Zane remembered what his dad had said about Rikki, how she was dangerous. Rikki wasn't the one who was dangerous, it was marine biologists like Denman and businessmen like his father. If Zane needed to get away from danger, he needed to get away from his dad. Zane had thought about running away from home before but not since he was a little boy. Maybe that wasn't such a bad idea. Maybe he should just take Rikki and run off. The thought didn't intimidate him as much as he thought it would. He'd love to have a life with her. Still, tearing her away from the girls seemed like tearing away two pieces of her heart. Rikki had a good life here, it wasn't a good enough excuse to pull her away from it just because he didn't.

Rikki, Cleo, Emma and Lewis had invited Zane to join them on the beach after school. He said he needed to be alone for a bit. He was glad Rikki would be with someone. He'd still let her in his room when she came tonight but he didn't know how open he would be at any point today. He thought he'd just grab a juice and head home. Maybe he could come up with a way to convince his dad to let him stay in school before he would need to tell her or their friends.

Zane wasn't paying much attention when he walked into the JuiceNet. He was looking at a corner wall and didn't see the girl carrying an orange juice out of the cafe. She must not have been paying attention either as they collided and the juice spilled all over her.

"I'm sorry." Zane said as he helped the girl stand up.

"No, it's fine." The girl replied. "I should have been paying attention."

The girl was pretty, Zane noted. She had short, red hair and blue eyes, nearly as bright as Rikki's. The JuiceNet was the hang out for almost everyone their age, yet Zane couldn't remember ever seeing her before.

"Are you new here?" Zane asked her.

"Yeah," she replied with a bright smile. "My family's moving out here at the beginning of next term. I'll be at Briton."

Maybe I'll see her around more than once. Zane thought.

"I'm Sophie." She said as she extended her hand.

"Zane." He replied, shaking it.

"Well, I'll catch you later, Zane." Sophie said as she moved around him. "I need to go wash this off."

Sophie smiled at him, biting her bottom lip. It made him feel weird. It wasn't the first time a girl had smiled at him like that. Miriam had, Rikki had. Did he accidentally flirt with her? He'd have to clear things up if he ever saw her again.

Zane turned around to make his way to the juice bar. He couldn't miss Miriam sitting at the table nearest the bar.

"You just can't keep them away, can you?" Miriam said.

"That wasn't anything." Zane shot back. "I'm with Rikki and that's that."

"Sure." Miriam replied, dropping her empty glass off at the bar. "Once a cheat, always a cheat."

AN: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! As I'm sure you can tell, I'll be taking this story in a bit of a different direction now with the introduction of Sophie. Will Zane kiss her just like he did in season 3? Will he do everything he can to avoid her? We'll see!

Thank you guys again for all the love and support on this story!

Chapter Text

Chapter 14

It had been a few weeks since Rikki's nightmare and things were going well. She went to a few therapy sessions and they seemed to be helping already. In addition, Harrison had let his son know that he was cutting funding from Dr. Denman so she would be forced to leave town soon. Rikki had cried happy tears when Zane had told her the good news.

Zane also hadn't brought up that he might be attending a private school next year. He had been trying to fight it, hoping his father would see his side but it seemed the more his dad learned about Briton, the more he wanted Zane to go. Although Rikki was doing better, he knew she was still a ticking time bomb. He figured it would be best to wait until he absolutely had to let her know.

Zane also couldn't shake what had happened in the cafe with Sophie and Miriam. He knew he was devoted to Rikki, his feelings for her couldn't compare to what his feelings were for Miriam. Still, he had been thinking about their past relationship. No, he and Miriam had never established themselves as boyfriend and girlfriend like he and Rikki had but he could see how Miriam might have thought they were in a relationship. It wasn't that delusional of a thought. But he and Rikki knew they were together, they knew they were only seeing each other. He wouldn't leave her or see anyone else.

He also felt guilty for thinking Sophie was pretty. She was, he found he couldn't deny it. Rikki was pretty too. Rikki was beautiful. It was one of the reasons he was attracted to her. Would he leave Rikki for Sophie like he had done Miriam? Just because he thought another girl was pretty? Would he do that for the rest of his life? A rational side of Zane told him he wouldn't but another part of him wasn't so sure.

Zane and Rikki didn't go on many dates. That was understandable, she had a lot going on. They saw each other every night anyway. Surprisingly enough, she had been the one to push for them to hang out more, go to the mall, walk on the beach like they used to do. Zane couldn't have agreed more. He had just arrived at the JuiceNet when he saw her, writing in her journal. Rikki had trouble opening up to her therapist so she had suggested keeping a journal and writing down her thoughts and experiences. It was a plain, black, leather bound journal that seemed to fit her aesthetic perfectly.

"Flying through the journal, huh?" Zane said as he approached her. She couldn't have had more than a few pages left.

Rikki shrugged as she closed the book. "Yeah, I guess I have a lot on my mind. I think I'll get a red one next."

"How original of you." Zane said, pulling her up from her seat to give her a kiss. "You ready to head out to the beach?"

Rikki blushed at him. They had been together and been through a lot in the past few months. He wondered why she was so flushed, but didn't question it as the pair walked off toward the beach. Unfortunately, Rikki didn't even think to grab her journal.

Miriam arrived at the cafe shortly after Rikki and Zane had headed off to the beach. She could still see the back of their heads in the distance. It wasn't fair, what did Rikki have that she didn't? Zane had never so much as given Miriam and explanation as to why they weren't good together. Miriam knew her chances with Zane were long gone. The likelihood of him dating her again was as good a chance as mermaids existing. Still, she knew Zane wasn't happy with Rikki, he couldn't be. Miriam's mum had heard Harrison didn't like the girl. Zane's family had lost enough already, they didn't deserve to lose anymore at the hands of the curly haired freak.

Thankfully, Miriam had a plan for this and that plan got much easier when she spotted a black, leather bound journal on a nearby table. It looked to be the same one she had seen Rikki scribbling in a few days earlier. What perfect timing.

Miriam walked into the JuiceNet, not caring to order a juice and instead taking the black diary over to the girl at a nearby table.

"This plan just got a whole lot easier." Miriam told the girl as she tossed the journal onto the table.

"What's this?" The girl asked, flipping through the pages.

"That Rikki girl's diary." Miriam replied. "There's got to be some stuff in there we can use to get Zane to date you."

"This could be a manual." The girl said. "There's stuff in here about a kidnapping-"

"No, scratch that." Miriam cut her off. "He'll know that's about her."

"That's not all." The girl said. "Daddy and Mummy issues, being bullied, moving around a lot and get this, some stuff about being a mermaid."

"Let me see that." Miriam said as she took the journal. It seemed every other sentence mentioned Rikki's mermaid life. Miriam flashed back to the day she gave Zane the locket. She had seen what was inside of it but she didn't think Rikki had any more than a connection to the mermaids Zane was hunting. How would it be possible for her to be a mermaid? Miriam had wondered why Zane had been so quick to forgive Rikki but if she was just hiding her mermaid identity from him, in fear the selfish, money-hungry bad boy he had been when they met would expose her, Miriam could see how Zane would be quick to forgive her.

"Miriam?" The girl at the table was snapping her fingers in Miriam's face. Miriam must of zoned out thinking about this new information.

"Sorry, Soph." Miriam said to the red head. "Just take the diary and read it over. I'm sure we'll get a chance to use it sometime soon."

Chapter Text

Chapter 15

"So, what's new? I haven't seen you in ages." Zane asked her, sarcastically, as he intertwined their fingers.

"Not too much." Rikki replied. "At least not much you don't know. What about you? We never talk about you."

"I don't mind." Zane said, knowing Rikki was the one who needed to talk and open up right now.

"I know." Rikki said. "But I don't know what's going on with you."

Zane took a sigh wondering if now was the time to tell her about Briton. "Same old, same old." He settled.

"Yeah?" Rikki said, looking up at him. "Well, what do you do when I'm not around?"

"Oh, you know just hanging out with my other girlfriend." Zane joked. "She's getting pretty needy, it's hard to balance you two."

"Hm." Rikki nodded. "Sounds like you'll have to let one of us go soon."

Zane stopped walking and pulled Rikki into his arms. "Yeah, good thing the choice is an easy one."

He gave her a quick kiss and was thankful he could joke around with her again. She gave him a bright smile and he got lost in her blue eyes. Sophie had blue eyes. Suddenly, Zane felt a pit in his stomach at the joke he had made. He hoped Rikki would take their conversation in another direction.

Rikki started walking along the beach again, giving him a soft tug. "No, really what do you do when I'm not around?"

"I don't know." Zane sighed. "I'll take my bike out to the motor cross tracks at the edge of town sometimes. I'll work on the Zodiac and take it out for spins every now and again."

Rikki nodded. "Didn't you always want to take me out on the Zodiac?"

"Yeah, to look for a mermaid." Zane scoffed. "Good thing I already found one."

"You found three, actually." Rikki said.

"Yeah," Zane shrugged. "Don't tell the others but I think you're the best one."

"Really?" Rikki asked in surprise. She mumbled something he missed over the crashing of the waves.

"What was that?" Zane asked.

"Why don't we go out on the Zodiac?" Rikki asked. He had a feeling that wasn't what she was mumbling but he decided to drop it for now.

"All right." Zane said. "Do you want to meet at Mako or something?"

"Why don't you take me?" She asked.

"You want to come on the Zodiac?" Zane asked. "Why?"

"I just thought I'd change things up a bit." Rikki said. "I haven't been on a boat in a while. Unless you count... you know..."

Rikki still had difficulties talking about her kidnapping but Zane supposed that was to be expected. At least she wasn't borderline a panic attack anytime it was brought up in conversation anymore.

"All right." Zane replied. "If you really want to go, I suppose we can."

"Great." Rikki said as they changed course of direction to head for the pier.

Zane hopped in the Zodiac as soon as they arrived. He started the engine and checked to make sure they had enough petrol to make it out to Mako and back. He didn't know if she wanted to go there or not but he doubted she'd want to go any further. He was ready to take off when he realized she wasn't on the boat, she was still standing on the pier looking into the water as if a Great White Shark was staring back at her.

"What's wrong?" Zane asked, standing up from the driver's seat.

"Nothing." Rikki replied, masking whatever emotion she had displayed with a smile. Her signature move. "I'm fine, I promise."

Zane offered her his hand to help her into the Zodiac. She pointedly ignored him as she took a seat behind him.

"Where do you want to go?" He asked as he slowly made his way out of the pier.

"Wherever." Rikki responded.

"Mako?" Zane tried again.

"Not really," Rikki said to his surprise. "Just out."

"All right." Zane said as he turned the boat on full speed, pulling out of the harbor.

Rikki did her best to remain calm on the Zodiac. She was pushing herself out of her comfort zone, like her therapist had encouraged her to do. This would help her return to her normal life and she knew she had to have Zane help her. It couldn't be one of the girls or Lewis. They wouldn't understand. Zane had been there for her through everything. She doubted he would fully understand what she was going through but he'd at least be as understanding as he had been from the beginning.

She saw Zane whip his head from left to right. What was he doing? Was he checking for other drivers? It had been a while since Rikki had driven a boat but she knew that wasn't how you were supposed to do it. Maybe he was checking to see if they were alone? Before she could think any further, Zane turned around to give her a mischievous smirk and made a hard right turn, cause water fly up and soak them both.

Rikki exclaimed as the water covered her body. She'd surely turn into a mermaid in a few seconds. This wasn't like the few drops she had been able to evaporate quickly on the boat ride thus far. Panic started to set in. This was not how she had imagined this going.

Zane turned around to face her, a smile still on his face until he saw hers. He must have thought it would be a funny prank. He must not have taken into account her feelings. Then again, she didn't tell him what her feelings were so how could he have known?

"Hey, what's wrong?" Zane asked, moving away from the driver's seat. Rikki felt the familiar feeling of her body turning into water before spitting her back out in her mermaid form.

"This wasn't how I was expecting this to go." She said was a sigh as she tried to re-adjust herself. Her tail was much longer than her legs.

"Expecting what to go?" Zane asked, confusion evident on his face.

"This." Rikki gestured to her mermaid form, expecting him to read her mind.

"Never mind." She continued with a sigh. Maybe this was too far out of her comfort zone. "Can you just take me back to land?"

"Sure." Zane nodded. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." She said as he took the driver's seat back, confusion still written all over his face.

Zane turned the Zodiac around and they headed back to the main land. Rikki knew she would have to start drying herself off now if she wanted to be in her human form when they got back on land. Still, something held her back. Something inside her was telling her not to give up. She could do this. She could go outside of her comfort zone. She could be a mermaid again.

"Wait." Rikki shouted so Zane would hear her. He turned his head around briefly and brought the boat to a slow stop.

"What is it?" He asked once the Zodiac had stopped.

"I'm sorry." Rikki said to him.

Zane was confused. "Sorry? For what?"

"For expecting you to read my mind." Rikki said as she started drying herself off. The water in the boat started to steam up around her. She hoped she wasn't drawing too much attention. They didn't need someone to see the steam in the air and come riding over thinking there was a fire.

"That is a pretty large task to ask." Zane laughed. "What's on your mind?"

Rikki felt herself turn back into her human form. She stopped squeezing her hand and sat up from the slump her mermaid form had forced her to be in.

"It's just..." she started. "I haven't been out in the ocean since... well since Denman."

"Really?" Zane asked. She supposed that must be surprising to him. Cleo and Emma had jumped in the water the second Rikki had told them Denman was leaving. She just couldn't find it in herself to go out in the ocean again, even though the threat she was scared of was now just a bad memory.

"Yeah." She sighed. "I... I don't know, I know it's silly. We went months without anyone finding us, I know the odds of me being plucked out of the ocean again are next to none but...

"The girls keep asking me to come out for swims." Rikki continued. "I don't know how many more excuses I can give them."

"You could just tell them how you feel." Zane said, reaching a hand out to stroke her arm. "I'm sure they'd understand."

"That's the thing." Rikki replied. "I want to go on swims with them. I don't think I'm pushing myself too far. But I don't think I'm just going to be able to run into the ocean like it's nothing. Not right away at least. I'm not sure if they'd get that. And Lewis, well he means well but he's a bit pushy. I guess I was just wondering if you could help me with this. With being comfortable being a mermaid again."

"Of course, I will." Zane said after a moment. "Take your time."

Rikki nodded. "Okay."

She stood up from the seat she had been rooted to since they left the docks. She looked at the water over the edge of the boat. It looked comforting and inviting, like an old friend but it also felt like it could betray her like an old friend had...

Rikki couldn't go that far in her head. This was not the time to be digging up old, bad memories. She shut her brain off and dove into the water. She felt like her tail had formed almost instantly, although she was sure it took the normal 10 seconds. She saw the bottom of Zane's Zodiac and the motor fan. She felt a twinge in her shoulder and knew she would have to break the surface before she thought any further. She didn't realize how much the motor had startled her until she was on the surface again and she found she had a hard time finding her breath.

Zane was on the boat a few meters away. He must have seen the terrified look on her face as he beckoned her to come to the Zodiac and told her she'd be okay. Rikki was glad he mentioned she would be okay because her brain was playing flashes of the night she was taken into Dr. Denman's boat. A part of her wanted to swim away but another part of her reminded herself Zane was on this boat, not Dr. Denman. Zane wouldn't hurt her.

Rikki swam over to the Zodiac as she felt herself catching her breath again.

"Are you all right?" Zane asked as he reached down to touch her cheek.

"I'm all right." Rikki reassured him. She reckoned her reaction when she broke the surface might have him questioning that but she was truly okay now.

"So what now?" Zane asked her. She supposed she was the only person on the planet who could truly understand getting used to being a fish again. Emma and Cleo knew what it felt like to be a mermaid but they never had to re-adjust to that life.

"I don't know." Rikki said. "I might just swim around a bit. Try to get used to the feeling again."

"What should I do?" Zane asked.

"Just- just stay here." Rikki said as she let go of the side of the boat. "I won't go far, I promise."

Rikki dove back under the water, making sure to head to the front of the boat so she wouldn't see the motor again. The ocean felt the same as it always had. She supposed it hadn't changed since the last time she swam in it. It was crazy to think the last time she swam in the ocean was the night Zane first saw her as a mermaid. It felt like he had known her secret for an eternity now.

Rikki dove even further down to the corals she remembered but hadn't seen in so long. There were so many beautiful fish floating around her. The dolphins and the turtles stole the show as they always had. Even the few Mako sharks she could see were still beautiful, gliding in the water like a blade on ice.

Rikki felt silly for being so afraid of the water. She hadn't felt this at peace in a long time. She had no idea how long she was exploring the underwater wilderness before she thought of Zane on the surface above. She made her way up to see him more than a few meters away. She dove back under again to make her way to the side of the Zodiac. She didn't feel as terrified seeing his still motor under the water.

"How was it?" He asked with a smile on his face.

She could tell she was smiling wide and she hoped that made him smile. "Incredible. It's like I never left."

"I'm glad." Zane told her.

"Do you want to go to Mako?" Rikki asked him.

"Sure." Zane replied. "I assume you have your own way of getting there?"

"You would be correct." Rikki said as she dove back under the water. She flipped her tail a few times before she felt herself speed off, taking the familiar path to Mako.

Rikki arrived in the moon pool to find it empty. She knew she was faster than Zane's Zodiac and Zane did have to take the tunnels in to get to the moon pool. Zane had been the absolute perfect boyfriend during all of this. If you would have told her all the things he had done for her, all the sacrifices he had made even a few weeks ago, Rikki wouldn't have believed you. She couldn't imagine how the girl who stole his Zodiac would feel. She couldn't have healed from all of this as much as she had, as quickly as she had, if it wasn't for him.

Rikki pushed herself out of the moon pool and began to dry herself off. She stood as soon as her legs reappeared and she heard his footsteps coming in from the tunnels outside the volcano.

"Hey," Zane started. He looked surprised to see her in her human form. "What's-"

Zane was cut off as Rikki pressed her lips against his. This kiss was much deeper, much more passionate than anything they had shared before. He melted into it, just as she did. He had no idea where this came from but he certainly wasn't complaining. If he had it his way, this kiss would never end.

Rikki hesitantly backed away from the kiss. Zane looked into her eyes to see they were swimming with tears. The tears didn't feel like the tears she shed during her nightmare about Denman or the tears she shed when he told her Denman was leaving. He couldn't put his finger on the emotion she had to be feeling but something about it made him feel weightless.

"I love you." She said, in barely a whisper. He wouldn't have heard it if they didn't have their arms around each other.

Zane felt himself laugh and tears form in his eyes too. The same tears as the ones in Rikki's eyes. That's what that feeling was; love.

"I love you, too." He told her with the widest smile he swore he ever wore. Rikki seemed to match it. He needed her back, as close as she could possibly be now. Their lips returned together as they resumed their passionate kiss.

The pair didn't leave the moon pool until much later that night.

AN: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! For those of you asking, I promise Miriam will be playing a much bigger role in this story than I have had her playing so far. At the start of the story, I really wanted to keep it in line with the events that ended up happening in the show. The episode right after In Too Deep starts all the Denman drama but now I suppose we're in the hiatus between season 1 and season 2 so I can do whatever I want now haha. I also I am making Rikki and Zane much more serious than the show's writers did so it wouldn't line up with the events of season 2 anyway. Anyway, get ready to see more of Miriam and more of another character that is trying to steal Zane's heart.

Chapter Text

Chapter 16

Since the night she dove back into the water off of Zane's Zodiac, Rikki felt odd being out of the ocean. She never questioned her home was on the land before but now she found herself wondering if she could just make the sea her home and visit the land on occasion.

Not to say her life on the land wasn't bad. In fact, if it wasn't for the Denman incident, Rikki would say her life was as perfect as it had ever been. She had the best friends she had ever had and an amazing, loving boyfriend. Both of her worlds were incredible. What more could a girl ask for?

She would still go on swims with the two girls but she would include Zane as much as possible. He couldn't very well swim alongside her from the pier or the docks to the middle of the ocean but he would take his Zodiac and follow her wherever she went. He dove with her a few times but he'd usually stay on his boat and work on what she assumed was homework. It was what he had opted to do on their latest trip out to sea.

"Are you sure you don't want to come in?" Rikki asked him as she swam up to the Zodiac. "The water feels great today."

Zane shook his head. "I'm all right. I should be working on this anyway."

"What is it?" Rikki asked as she pulled her upper body above the surface, accidentally splashing some water on the paper.

"Great, thanks a lot Rikki." Zane shot back to her. He was clearly pissed.

Rikki lowered herself back into the sea. "What's wrong? It was just a little bit of water. Does it really matter?"

Zane sighed. It wasn't just any homework assignment, it was his final papers for Briton. His dad would be pissed if Zane came home with wrinkled papers. Zane usually wouldn't care what his dad thought but Harrison had been wrecking havoc toward his son whenever he tried to fight back about Briton. Zane was tired of dealing with it.

Even though term started in just a few weeks, Zane had yet to tell Rikki and the others that he would be transferring schools. He hoped Rikki wouldn't be too upset but didn't know if she would get that lucky. He was fighting Briton as much as he could but it appeared he was fighting a losing battle.

"It's not homework." Zane told her.

"Okay, so why is it so important?" Rikki asked. "You're hiding something from me."

"Yeah, not too fun being on the other side is it?" Zane joked.

"Seriously, what is it?" Rikki asked him with a smile.

"It's my dad." Zane started. "He's... well, he's making me transfer schools."

"What?" Rikki asked, she smile disappearing from her face.

"Yeah, well he wants me to go to Briton Academy." Zane said. "I'll still be in town and we can still hang out at the JuiceNet or the beach or wherever after school."

"How long have you known?" Rikki asked, her demeanor had completely changed from the happy girl she was a few minutes ago.

"Rikki, why does that matter?"

"How long have you known?" Rikki repeated.

Zane sighed again. He wouldn't be so lucky to get out of this without upsetting her. "A while, I'm not sure. I was trying to get out of it before I told you. I didn't want you to worry if I was able to convince my dad to let me stay here."

"That's not the point, Zane." Rikki shot back.

"What is the point then?" Zane yelled back at her.

Rikki opened her mouth but quickly closed it. She had been so good about opening up to him and now it felt like she was closing up again. What did this have to do with him moving schools?

"Nothing." Rikki replied as she started backing away from the Zodiac. "Forget about it."

Zane wanted to fight her back and figure out what was going on. Why was she acting so weird all of a sudden? She didn't give him the time though as she dove under water and swam away.

Zane briefly thought about going after Rikki but he figured they could talk about this tonight. He was glad he was going over to her place and not the other way around. She might not show if it was her night to come over. He hoped she would let him in. He figured it might be easier to come through the window. It would be awkward if he had to leave in front of her father.

Zane decided to go the JuiceNet and think about the next steps he'd have to take with Rikki. He grabbed a juice and sat down at a booth in the corner. He wanted to make it clear that he wanted to be left alone. He supposed he didn't make it clear enough as someone approached the table.

"Is this seat taken?" The girl with the short, red hair asked.

"Sophie!" Zane exclaimed.

"Yes," she replied with a confused look on her face, as if to wonder why she got that reaction. "It's Zane right? Do you mind if I join you?"

"I'd- I'd actually prefer to be alone if you don't mind." Zane told her, giving her a small smile, trying to to come off too harsh.

"It looks like you're thinking about something," Sophie said as she ignored him and took the seat across from him. "I could help."

Zane initially thought to tell her off. How dare she not listen to him? Then, he thought this might be a good opportunity to tell Sophie about Rikki. He was almost certainly attending Briton next term so he might run into her. The sooner Zane could tell her about Rikki, the better.

"I just had an argument with my girlfriend is all." Zane told the girl across from him. "She was upset I didn't tell her I was going to Briton and took off."

"I could understand that." Sophie replied. "I have arguments with my boyfriend every now and again and I grew up moving schools often so I've had my fair share of friends get upset with me for it."

Zane was relieved to hear Sophie had a boyfriend. Maybe his misread the situation the last time he saw her. She seemed nice too. Maybe she'd be his first friend at Briton.

"You've moved schools a lot?" Zane asked.

"Yeah," Sophie nodded. "I usually look forward to it. I don't really fit in, if you know what I mean. To be honest, I was bullied a lot at my other schools but I really liked the school I had just moved from. I guess I'm just nervous Briton will be like my old schools."

"Well, I suppose we could hang out even if you don't fit in there." Zane told her.

"Really?" Sophie asked.

"Sure, why not?" Zane said as he leaned back in his booth and placed his hand on the table. He'd find this to be a mistake as Sophie seemed very excited about their new friendship, grabbed his hands in hers.

"That is so sweet of you, Zane." She told him. "I'd love to be your friend."

Zane gave her a small, slightly forced, smile. He could feel someone's eyes on him, someone that wasn't Sophie. He looked toward the center of the cafe to see Cleo and Emma staring at him with disapproving looks on their faces.

Zane jumped out of the booth, ignoring Sophie. He needed to clear this up with the two girls before they told Rikki what they saw. They had the wrong impression, nothing was going on with him and Sophie.

As Zane walked toward Emma and Cleo, they walked out of the cafe. He chased after them, shouting for them to return.

"Hey," Zane finally said as he jumped in front of them on the patio. "Can we just talk about what you saw?"

"What's there to talk about?" Emma asked. "It looked pretty obvious to me."

"It's not what it looked like." Zane told them. "Sophie's just a friend."

"Looked a little more than friendly to me." Cleo said. "Like you hold hands at a corner booth with your friends?"

"She jumped on me, I swear." Zane pleaded.

"You know, we met up with Rikki in the moon pool a little while ago." Emma said. Zane's heart dropped. How much of an ass did he look like to the two? "She told us about your new school. She was upset you'd be leaving and this is how you repay her?"

"Do you have any idea how much she cares for you?" Cleo asked.

"You're right." Zane said. "I screwed up, but please, let me talk to Rikki about this. I want to make it better and I swear Sophie is just a friend."

"Why should we believe that?" Emma asked.

Zane felt like a fish out of water. He knew he cared about Rikki more than most anything. He knew he wouldn't let Sophie get in the way of what they had. Rikki was one of the greatest things that had ever happened to him and he wasn't going to let that go. He could think of too many reasons Cleo and Emma should believe him but it was like they were all on a race from him brain to get to his mouth.

Emma scoffed at Zane and she and Cleo maneuvered around him. They would tell Rikki about their view of him and Sophie as soon as they left. He needed to stop them now.

"Because I love Rikki." Zane said, probably louder than what he intended but it caught the two girls attention. They had known him for a while, they should know when he was being serious and when he was joking. They both had almost confused looks on their faces.

"You... what?" Cleo asked.

Zane took a few steps forward so he was standing directly in front of them. "You heard me. I love her, all right? I wouldn't do anything to hurt her, especially not anything that stupid. I swear to you on my life, there's nothing going on with me and Sophie."

Emma and Cleo exchanged looks. It seemed like Cleo was sold on Zane's declaration but Emma wasn't quite there yet. Eventually the latter rolled her eyes and uncrossed her arms.

"Fine." Emma said. "We'll believe you but if we catch you two again, we'll tell Rikki."

"Fine." Zane replied. "No worries, it won't happen again."

"Good." Emma said, walking away from the cafe.

"See you around." Cleo told him as she followed Emma.

Zane waved at her hoping they would keep their promise.

Chapter Text

Chapter 17

Zane left the cafe and made his way to Rikki's trailer. He didn't need to have any other questionable encounters with Sophie and he needed to talk to Rikki. He could understand why Rikki might be upset since he didn't tell her about Briton but he hoped she could see his point of view. It's not like he wasn't going to tell her he was moving schools.

Once Zane arrived at Rikki's trailer, he went to her bedroom window to see if she was there. He didn't see her in her room. He supposed he could just walk through the front door, Terry had taken a liking to Zane. Still, the older man didn't need to know about this argument or whatever this situation would be called, especially if Zane could resolve it. He had a strong feeling he could fix the problem.

Besides, Zane had a good feeling Rikki wasn't in her trailer anyway. He couldn't put his finger on why, but something was pulling him out to Mako. It didn't take him long to get to the docks where his Zodiac was and fly to the moon pool.

Zane stumbled onto the deserted island and ran to the moon pool. As he had suspected, Rikki was leaning up on the edge of the pool with her tail gently swishing back and forth in the water. She was beautiful in any form but she was that much more gorgeous in the water. A part of him had expected her to swim away as soon as he entered but she had to have known he was here now.

Zane took a seat in the sand in front of her, "Hey."

"Hi." She replied.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Briton earlier." Zane told her. There was no use beating around the bush. "I just... well, I'm sure you know I don't want to go and I was trying to convince my dad otherwise and-"

"No, it's fine." Rikki cut him off. "I understand why you didn't tell me."

"So you're not mad?" Zane asked.

"No, I just..." Rikki started. "I guess since I've moved around a lot, I know it's hard to stay in touch with people."

"Rikki, it's in the same town." Zane told her. "I'll still be able to hang out with you after school."

"I know." She continued. "I guess I..."

"You just... what?" Zane asked after a moment.

"It's just something silly from my past." Rikki scoffed.

"What is it?" Zane asked. He had a suspicion it wasn't silly.

"Why don't we go back to my place and I'll show you." Rikki suggested. "I wrote about it in my journal."

"All right." Zane told her before he bent down to her level and gave her a quick kiss. "I love you."

"I know." She told him with a small grin. "I love you, too."

Zane exited the moon pool and went back to the Zodiac on the shore. He was sure Rikki would beat him back to her trailer and he was right. He didn't expect to see her ripping her room apart when he got to her trailer himself.

"Rikki?" He asked as she continued to dig through the drawers of her small wardrobe. "What's up?"

"My journal." She started. "I can't find it anywhere. I thought I left it on this table but it's not there."

"Didn't you have it at the JuiceNet?" Zane asked, trying to remember the last time he saw her with it. Come to think of it, that black book was attached to her at the hip until a few days ago.

"Yes, I did." Rikki said, as if a light bulb had just gone off in her head. "We can go back and get it. What time is it?"

"Closing time." Zane told her as he held up his watch for her to see.

"Oh." Rikki replied, defeated. She had hoped she could just give her journal to Zane and have him read it. She wanted to tell him but she had hoped to take the easy way out.

"You can tell me too." Zane suggested. "If you want."

"Yeah," Rikki replied. "Yeah I suppose I could.

"It's silly," she continued. "It's not really that traumatic. I guess I'm just more sensitive than I lead on."

"Maybe so." Zane said, moving to her bed and taking a seat at the foot of it. He patted the spot next to him to invite her to take that seat.

"Just don't tell anyone." Rikki said taking the seat. "I can't have people thinking I'm not a hard ass."

"Of course not." Zane laughed. "So what happened?"

"Well... I suppose it's obvious I never really had great friends before I moved here." Rikki started. "But I did have one really good friend when I was about nine. Her name was Sofia. We got on really well which was a change for me. Then, she moved schools and I tried to keep in touch. Anyway, I guess to make a long story short, she was just pretending to be my friend. Some kids had dared her to hang out with me."

"You think I'm just dating you because someone dared me?" Zane asked. That was silly.

"No!" Rikki exclaimed. She didn't mean to insult him like that. "No I mean... well, if you did, you're going through some pretty insane lengths to hold up your end."

He laughed with her. He was glad they could joke about this at least a little bit.

"No, that's not really it." Rikki said. "When I moved before, it was almost a relief. I didn't have to talk to anyone at my old schools again. I've even moved to different schools in the same city. I haven't been able to stay in touch with anyone."

"So you don't think I'll be able to?" Zane asked her.

"I don't think it's as easy as you think it is." Rikki told him. "And I suppose it just brought up some bad memories for me."

"Rikki," Zane started, placing a hand over hers like he had done on the balcony. "You're my top priority. If you want to hang out with me, I'll tell all my other friends to screw off. Sure, we won't be at the same school but I promise, I'll always make time for you."

"Okay." She said after a moment. "Thank you."

"Of course." Zane replied, leaning in to give her a kiss. That was another silly thought, why would he hang out with anyone else doing anything else when he could be kissing Rikki?

Chapter Text

Chapter 18

Zane had his schedule in hand as he walked out of the main office of Briton. He already missed his old school, if only for the lack of uniform. He didn't realize how much of a luxury it was to be able to attend school in jeans and a t-shirt until he had to put on a tie and dress pants this morning. He had made a list of people who would laugh at him if they ever saw him in his uniform on the way to school. Rikki had found her way on that list.

Zane hoped she was having a good first day back for the new term. He figured she was probably just hanging out with Cleo, Emma and Lewis before they made their way to their first class. He would give just about anything to be with them or even Nate and his gang. He and Rikki were supposed to hang out at the JuiceNet after school though so at least he had that to look forward to.

He couldn't do anything about it now. Zane was a student of Briton Academy and that was that. He glanced down at his schedule and the map he was given and made his way to his first class. He took a seat in the far back corner, hoping he could screw off back here and maybe text Rikki for a bit. She'd likely be on her phone later that day.

"I like sitting in the back too." Zane heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Hey, stranger." Sophie said as she took the seat next to him.

Zane gave her a small wave. He didn't know how to handle Sophie. On one side, she was just a new girl in town who stated she had a boyfriend. On the other, she made him feel uneasy. She seemed at least a little flirtatious with him when they had first met and she had to have known how she made them look in the back booth of the JuiceNet. She didn't bother to come outside and help him clarify things with Cleo and Emma either. Still, he didn't want to be rude to her. That fact also made him feel uneasy. He didn't mind being rude to anyone, except Rikki and now Sophie.

"Look, I get it." Sophie told him. "I'm sorry about the cafe. I'm guessing those girls you ran after were friends of yours and your girlfriend's?"

"They were." Zane replied, trying not to be rude but still not really wanting to give her too much attention.

"Yeah," she sighed. "And I guess they thought something more was going on between us?"

"You got it." Zane told her, flipping his pencil between his fingers.

"I can come with you and clarify things if you want." She offered.

"That's all right." Zane told her. "It's been taken care of."

"I hope in a way that worked out for you." She said.

Zane turned to look at the girl. She had a small, sweet smile on her face that told him she didn't want to hurt him. She just wanted to be his friend. Maybe he could be friends with her.

"Yeah, it did." Zane replied with a small smile back. "Thanks."

"So what does the rest of your schedule look like?" Sophie asked. Zane handed the paper to her. "It looks like we have a few classes together this term and lunch. We can hang out then, if you want."

"Yeah, sure." Zane replied. Sophie was nice, she didn't have any malicious intentions and he figured if they were, for whatever reason, caught in a compromising situation again, she would help explain they were just friends.

Something else Zane found he appreciated about Sophie was how deep she was. She told him her parents split up when she was only seven and she hadn't as much heard from her mum since. He supposed that was a pretty traumatic experience.

"It's a bit of a miracle I'm able to go here." She told him at lunch. "My dad doesn't make as much as I'm sure everyone else's does but we get by and don't get me wrong, I love the guy and I know he loves me, I just wonder if he likes me, you know? He's just so busy with work."

If she had asked Zane to talk about his relationship with his father, he would have to repeat her own words back to her. Sophie was wonderful and seemed to be making Zane's Briton experience a little less horrible. Time seemed to fly in the classes he had with her. In the classes he didn't have with her, he found himself looking forward to the ones he did.

"So how was your first day?" She asked him as they walked out of the school after their last class was over.

"It was pretty good." He told her. "I was dreading it but it wasn't too bad."

"Same here." She said, the small smile still on her face. "Hey, do you want to go take a walk on the beach? It's really nice outside."

"Yeah, sure." Zane replied. Sophie was right, it was a nice day out and it would be a waste to just go back to his home.

Briton was very close to the beach so it didn't take them long to get there. Zane didn't know what they would talk about but Sophie was good at starting their conversations.

"I had a good first day too." She told him. "I'd say thanks to you."

"Yeah, no problem." He told her. "You're pretty easy going company, I almost find it hard to believe you were bullied in your old schools."

"Well, we're both outsiders, aren't we?" She asked him.

"I suppose but I still don't get it." Zane told her.

"Yeah well..." Sophie started, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I guess it all started with my mum leaving."

"Really?" Zane asked. He knew how much a parent leaving could affect someone.

"Yeah." She replied. "It was pretty traumatic, honestly. One of the worst things that's happened to me."

"I'm sorry." Zane told her. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"No, it's okay." Sophie told him. "I like talking. Some have accused me of over sharing before. She and my dad had a fight one night, concerning money, of course. They never seemed to argue about anything else. Anyway, it was late, I was supposed to be asleep but they were yelling back and forth so loudly, it woke me up. Finally, my mum said she was leaving. I chased her out of the house and begged her not to go but... she did."

"I- I'm so sorry, Sophie." Zane said after a moment. "That must have been horrible for you."

"Yeah," she sighed. "But I've dealt with it. It's just a bad memory now."

Zane was going to reply with his own story of his mum leaving but that seemed dumb. His parents had simply sat him down and told him they were divorcing. They argued about everything, he saw it coming from a mile away. His own mum still sent him presents for his birthday and Christmas and spoke to him on occasion. She was re-married with a new family, her new husband was every bit as well off as Zane's own father was. He knew she was fine, compared to Sophie not even knowing where her own mother was.

Before he could say anything else, his phone started ringing. He had half a mind to ignore it but he pulled it out to see who was calling him. His eyes widened as he realized he had forgotten something very important today.

"Rikki!" Zane said as he answered the phone. "Hey, what's up?"

"Not much, I've just been waiting at the juice bar." She replied. Fuck. "Are you still coming?"

"I- yeah, of course." Zane told her. "Sorry, I just went for a walk on the beach and time got away from me."

"Wow, that bad of a first day, huh?" She asked.

"No, it was good I just- I just wanted to clear my head is all." Zane said. "But I'm heading to the cafe now, I'll see you soon."

Zane hung up on Rikki and turned is attention back to Sophie. "Sorry, I have to go. That was my girlfriend, I forgot we had a date today."

"Oh, gosh I'm sorry." Sophie said, with puppy dog eyes. "I didn't mean to keep you."

"That's all right." Zane told her. "I'll catch you later."

Sophie watched as Zane ran up the sand dunes toward the main land. Once he was out of sight she reached into her book bag and pulled out the black, leather bound book and her phone.

"Hey." She said once the person on the other line answered. She flipped through the book as she spoke. "He totally fell for that stupid mum story of hers. I think this will be easier than we thought."

Lewis had just left school and headed to his home to grab his fishing gear. Cleo and Emma were going for a swim and Rikki was going to be meeting up with Zane at the JuiceNet. He loved spending time with his friends but he was also thankful to have time alone to go and fish. It was a good time to clear his head and possibly re-think any mermaid theories he might have.

He was planning on going to his normal dock but it certainly wasn't as secret as the moon pool. Fishermen lined the dock so Lewis decided to head out to the beach, hoping he might get some good bites there.

Once he had arrived, he noticed the beach was relatively empty. He looked up and down the shoreline and was surprised to see no one was there. It was a beautiful day, where was everyone? He finally saw a couple appear on the horizon and thought they had some sense. The girl had short, red hair and looked as bubbly and bouncy as any girl he'd ever seen. Lewis couldn't see that well but the guy had dark hair and seemed familiar. Lewis waited to take a step out from behind the sand dune to inspect the situation. As the couple came closer, Lewis did realize he knew the man and felt his eyes widen.

It was Zane.

Wasn't he supposed to be at the JuiceNet with Rikki? Who was this girl he was with? Was he cheating on Rikki? Was this girl just a friend he made at his new school? What was going on? Lewis made a mental note to talk to at least Cleo and Emma about this. Rikki had been hurt enough in the last few months, she didn't need this.

Chapter Text

Chapter 19

Lewis entered the moon pool a few nights later. He had seen Rikki and Zane together the next day and they looked as happy as ever. Maybe nothing was going on. Still, something about Zane and the ginger haired girl didn't sit right with Lewis. He had told Cleo and Emma he needed to talk to them about something important. He also told them not to tell Rikki what was going on just yet. He didn't know if he was overreacting or if Zane possibly had a cousin in town or something. He wanted to get the opinions of the two girls first. Besides, this was how things worked with the three of them, they wouldn't act until they all knew what was going on.

Lewis hoped it was nothing. He didn't care for Rikki in any romantic way but he still thought of her like a sister. Things finally seemed to be going well for her and now Zane had to come in and ruin it. Zane had been a pig for as long as Lewis had known him. That was until Zane had started dating Rikki. It seemed like the guy had changed but who truly knew?

Lewis was pacing the sand in the volcano when he heard bubbling noises coming from the water. Cleo's head popped up first and she gave him a smile he returned.

"Lewis," Emma said once she broke the surface and the two girls swam to the ledge of the pool. "What's going on? What did you want to talk about?"

"It's Rikki." Lewis said. "Or well... it's Rikki and Zane."

"What about them?" Cleo asked.

"Well, when I was fishing the other day, I saw Zane on the beach with someone." Lewis said.

"Someone?" Emma asked.

"Yeah," Lewis said. "Someone. It was some girl. Some girl that wasn't Rikki, I'm certain. I just... well you guys know I'm not great with this romance stuff and well I don't know, does this mean anything? Should we talk to Rikki about it?"

"Lewis," Cleo started in a very serious voice after sharing an odd look with Emma. "What did this girl look like?"

"I don't know." Lewis said. "They were too far away, I barely recognized Zane."

"You didn't get anything?" Emma asked.

"Well, she had short, red hair." Lewis told them and was surprised to see Emma and Cleo's eyes go wide.

"What?" Lewis asked. "What is it?"

"Emma and I saw Zane holding hands with a girl at the JuiceNet the other day." Cleo told him.

"A girl with short, red hair." Emma continued.

"Does Rikki know?" Lewis asked.

"Probably not." Emma said as she flipped onto her back. "Ugh, we were so stupid to trust Zane."

"What did he say that made you think you could trust him?" Lewis scoffed.

"He told us he loved Rikki," Cleo said with her sad, irresistible puppy dog eyes. Lewis hadn't realized Rikki and Zane were that serious.

"Well, he also agreed if we caught him again, we could tell Rikki." Emma said as it looked like she was heading for the exit. "And that's exactly what I'm going to do."

Lewis watched as Emma dove away. Cleo gave him a sad smile and followed her mermaid sister under the water. Lewis didn't think much of Zane but he didn't expect this.

"So how is your new school?" Rikki asked Zane. They were taking a much needed walk on the beach. They both said this was a great space for them to clear their minds. Rikki was probably thinking about her mental health while Zane was shamefully thinking of Sophie. He hadn't told Rikki about his new friend yet and a part of him didn't want to tell her. He didn't know why but he didn't want her to know for the time being.

"Boring." Zane replied. "Neat little uniforms, dedicated to producing the leaders of tomorrow."

"Wow, that sounds like you." Rikki laughed. Zane laughed back at her. He loved her humor.

"Seriously, how is it?" Rikki continued. "You never talk about it, is it that horrible?"

"No," Zane replied. "I mean, I still miss our school but it's not like they torture us."

"Have you made any new friends?" Rikki asked.

"What kind of question is that?" Zane asked, his defenses clearly up.

"It's just a question." Rikki replied. What had gotten into him? "You make friends at school, yes?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Zane said, hanging his head. He was acting so weird.

"I'll take that as a 'no' then." Rikki told him. "That's all right, you'll always have us."

Zane gave her a smile and pulled her to him to give her a kiss. Just before their lips touched, Rikki's phone started to ring.

"Perfect timing." She muttered as she flipped her phone open.

"Hey, Em." Rikki said as she answered. "Well I'm with Zane right now can't I- yeah, okay, all right I'll be there soon.

"That was Emma." Rikki told Zane. "I guess she needed to talk to me about something urgently so I'll catch you later?"

"Yeah, sure." Zane told her, and pulled her to him to finish the kiss he had started. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She told him as she walked up toward the main land.

Zane continued his walk on the beach. He supposed he really should tell Rikki about Sophie. Sophie was just a friend, there was nothing more to it. Rikki didn't seem like the type to get jealous easily. He could have other friends who were girls. Still, he explored the side of him that was hesitant to tell Rikki about the new girl. He wondered why that was. He had hung out with Nate a few days ago at the motor cross tracks and had mentioned Sophie to his friend but a part of him felt it was forbidden to talk about her with Rikki. Could it be that he had feelings for Sophie? No, he didn't and it didn't matter if he did, he was with Rikki. He loved Rikki. Suddenly he remembered what Miriam said to him the day he first met Sophie. Once a cheat, always a cheat. Could he trust himself to be loyal to Rikki?

Zane's phone started ringing a little bit further down his walk. He pulled it out of his pocket to see who was calling him. Speak of the devil.

"Hey, Sophie." Zane said as he answered.

"Hey," she replied. "I just wanted to give you a call to see if you had plans for tonight."

"I'm not sure." Zane answered, honestly. He and Rikki had planned on hanging out until they went to sleep at his place. He wasn't sure if the issue Emma needed to talk to Rikki about was going to take all night or not. "Why, what's up?"

"Some friends and I were going to be a party at the JuiceNet after it closes tonight." Sophie said. "I was able to snag an invite if you wanted to come."

"Yeah," Zane replied. He figured Rikki would call him when she was done with the girls and he'd leave the party then. "That sounds fun, I should be there."

"All right, I see you in a few." Sophie said before hanging up on him. Zane felt guilty but then again, why should he? Sophie was just a friend and it sounded like there were going to be several people at this party. What was the harm?

Rikki made her way to Emma's house where she had asked to meet. Rikki wondered what this was all about. She figured it wasn't anything related to their mermaid lives as they likely would have met in the moon pool. Rikki had thought about what could be happening on her way to Emma's house but she couldn't think of anything which only made her more nervous.

"Hey, guys." Rikki said as she entered the home. Emma, Cleo and Lewis were all sitting in the living room. The look on their faces was very stoic. "Did someone die?"

"Take a seat, Rikki." Emma gestured for the blonde girl to sit on the couch across from the three friends.

"All right," Rikki said slowly as she sat on the couch and faced her friends. "What's going on?"

"You should know, no matter what happens the three of us are always here for you." Cleo started.

Rikki gave her friends odd looks. What the hell was going on?

"What's happening?" Rikki asked.

"And we wouldn't lie to you either." Emma said, in a much more stern voice than Cleo had previously.

"You guys are really starting to freak me out." Rikki told them. "Can you just spit it out?"

"I saw Zane on the beach the other day." Lewis said. "With another girl."

"What?" Was all Rikki could bring herself to say. No, it couldn't be Zane. It had to have been someone else, Lewis was mistaken.

"No... I- I mean it must have been someone else." Rikki said as she stood from the couch. "But they were just walking? That doesn't mean anything."

"We saw him with her, too." Cleo said. "They were at the JuiceNet in the back booth, holding hands."

"This is ridiculous." Rikki said as she started to walk to the door.

"Rikki-" she heard Emma try this time.

"No, it couldn't have been Zane that you saw." Rikki told them as she stood by the door. "I know you guys were never big fans of his, but this has gone too far."

"Rikki, wait!" Emma called for her friend but it was too late. Rikki had already run out of the house.

"That went better than expected." Lewis said, earning two glare from Cleo and Emma.

Zane entered the JuiceNet a little while after his phone call with Sophie. He hadn't heard from Rikki yet but he would be ready to leave as soon as she called. He hoped everything was okay with her and the girls.

"Zane!" He heard his name called brightly. He saw Sophie sitting with a group at one of the surf board style tables in the center of the cafe. He smiled back at her and went to join them.

Sophie introduced Zane to all the people at the table. It was a relatively small group and he was pretty happy about that. He didn't feel like being around large crowds tonight. A part of himself found he was happy to be here and another part wanted to be curled up in his bed with Rikki. He stepped away from the group a little while later to check his phone again and saw nothing. He started typing out a quick text to let Rikki know he was at the party but he was interrupted by the red head girl.

"Having fun?" Sophie asked as she approached him.

"Yeah, it's all right." Zane said. "I was just checking on my girlfriend."

"I hope everything's okay." Sophie said.

"Yeah, me too." Zane replied. He didn't want to dive into it too much. "So what's this party for?"

"Well, honestly it's a break up party." Sophie told him. "My boyfriend dumped me and my friends thought it would be fun to have a party. Dumb idea."

"I'm sorry, Sophie." Zane told her. He felt bad for excluding himself now. She was hurting. She, Sophie, his friend.

"It's all right." Sophie told him. "It was starting to go down hill anyway. Why don't you come rejoin the party?"

"Yeah, sure." Zane replied as he followed her back to the table.

Sophie's friends turned out to be great fun. They were just a fun and full of energy as she was. Zane still would have preferred a meeting with the mermaid club but this was a pretty great alternative. They talked about music, school, friends. One of the guys at the party, Ben, even raced motor cross like Zane did.

"All right," A girl Zane knew to be named Zoey started. "Why don't we get this party started?"

The girl pulled a large bottle out of her back pack and placed it on the floor.

"Come on, Soph," She said. "Nothing will help you out of a break up more than kissing a few guys."

"Zoey," Sophie whined. "You said you weren't going to do this."

"I'm just trying to help my heartbroken friend, come on." Zoey persisted.

Zane saw Sophie roll her eyes. He suddenly felt as if he shouldn't be here. He didn't need to be kissing anyone other than Rikki.

"I'll tell you what." Zoey told her friends. "If you spin, you can either kiss the person it landed on or take a shot."

The rest of the group seemed to think this was a good idea. Zane felt dumb it took him this long to realize that wasn't just any bottle, it was full of liquor. Vodka to be exact.

"You don't have to play if you don't want to." Sophie told Zane. "I know you have your girlfriend. I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to leave, honestly."

"No, I'll stay." Zane told her. "But I think I'll sit this game out."

Zane watched from the bar as the teenagers in front of him seemed to be taking more shots throughout the game rather than kissing others. All of them except for Sophie, who seemed to be lucky enough to not have the bottle land on her nearly as often. He wondered if that was on purpose and these guys just wanted to try to make out with each other or get drunk. Zane looked back at his phone and didn't see any response from Rikki. He sent her a quick text saying he was at the JuiceNet if she wanted to meet him there. He waited for a response while he continued to watch the game in front of him. The guys occasionally tried to get him to join in but he always told them no. Then again, he could just take shots of whatever was in the bottle. He'd never been drunk before but he figured he'd just have a few and head out. He didn't want to be the downer of the party.

Zane joined the circle and was met with cheers from everyone except for Sophie. He spun the bottle and it landed on one of the guys. An easy choice, Zane poured himself a shot. The alcohol burned his throat as it made it's way down.

He quickly figured he maybe shouldn't have joined this game. Whatever luck Sophie had to not get the bottle to land on her, Zane seemed to have the opposite luck. Still, he couldn't kiss anyone in the circle so he continued to take shot after shot. He started to feel lightheaded and he figured this is what it meant to be drunk. He was standing but he probably couldn't walk a straight line. He briefly wondered if he was standing still or swaying a bit.

Sophie finally had the bottle land on her after what seemed like ages. It was her turn to spin now and she gave the bottle a good turn. Zane felt his heart stop beating when it landed on him. He looked at her and found she was looking back at him. He was confused when she didn't pour herself a shot.

"The vodka's gone!" Zoey slurred. She'd taken quite a few shots herself. "You have to kiss."

Zane should have walked out. A logical part of his brain was still working. He shouldn't have jumped into the circle at all. Then again, he knew Sophie and aside from their first encounter at the cafe, she had only ever been friendly with him. She didn't want anything more from him but she had also had a boyfriend during those times. Was it different now that she was single? The not-so-logical part of Zane questioned if Sophie kissing him would really be the worst thing in the world. If he had to kiss someone here, it would easily be her. Rikki didn't have to know.

Rikki.

The thought of her took over Zane and he knew he had to leave. It seemed he waited a little too long to come to this realization as Sophie grabbed his face and pulled him down to her in a kiss. The table erupted in cheers as their lips touched. Sophie was a damn good kisser although not as good as Rikki. Zane pulled back from the kiss at the thought of Rikki. Everyone was still cheering so he assumed they weren't kissing for all that long. He immediately felt an insane amount of guilt for kissing Sophie. So much he didn't think he'd be able to keep this from Rikki. He hoped she wouldn't be too hard on him. He hoped she'd at least talk to him.

Sophie smiled at him as she backed away. Zane suddenly didn't feel the need to be nice to her anymore. He was going to tell her off but something behind him caught her eye. He saw her eyes widen as she took in a gasp. Zane turned around to see what had taken her attention away from him.

"Rikki?" Zane muttered as he took in the beautiful, broken blonde girl that stood behind him. The girl who saw everything.

Rikki looked like she wanted to say something but she stopped herself. Zane took a step forward and that was all she needed to run out of the cafe and away from him.

Fuck.

Chapter Text

Chapter 20

"Rikki!" Zane shouted as he chased after he out of the cafe. He was still a little tipsy from the several vodka shots he had taken but he knew he needed to snap out of this. Rikki, his girlfriend, the girl he loved just saw him kissing another girl. He needed to explain himself.

"Rikki, wait!" Zane exclaimed as he finally caught up to her and cut her off, holding her in place.

"Let me go." Rikki muttered. He could tell she was fighting back tears. He felt awful.

"No, please let me explain." Zane told her.

"What is there to explain?" She asked shaking him off. "I saw you kissing another girl. I know you've been seeing her too."

"What?" Zane asked. How did Rikki know he had been hanging out with Sophie? He hadn't been 'seeing' her either. "What are you talking about?"

"God, Zane." Rikki sighed. "Haven't you lied to me enough?"

"Rikki, I really don't know what you're talking about." Zane told her. "Sophie's just a friend, I-"

"So is that how you treat all your friends now?" Rikki shot back. "Going around kissing them?"

"Rikki, it was just a game." Zane pleaded. "It didn't mean anything."

"I'm glad kissing someone means so little to you." Rikki said.

"I- I don't know what to say." Zane told her. "I'm so sorry, love-"

"No, don't call me that!" Rikki exclaimed. Zane had been reaching out to touch her arm but she moved away from him, walking away from the cafe.

"Rikki, please-" Zane started.

"You know, you really had me fooled, Zane." Rikki told him as she stopped in the lawn he found out she was a mermaid. "I almost didn't believe the girls and Lewis when they told me you were seeing someone else. Congratulations, the prank worked, I'm heartbroken and you don't have to put up with me anymore."

So that's how she knew Zane and Sophie had been hanging out. The two girls hadn't kept their promise after all. He thought he had their word, what had changed?

"There's no prank!" Zane told her. "I love you."

"This has really gone too far, Zane." Rikki told him as he saw tears start to fall from her eyes.

"I'm serious, Rikki!" Zane started. He was starting to feel emotional as well. Rikki was the best thing that ever happened to him and he could feel her slipping away from him. "That was all so stupid of me, I'm a total idiot. I'll do whatever you want, I won't see Sophie anymore. Please, just give me another chance."

Zane had walked up to her and taken her hands in his. She didn't push him away or burn him so he took that as a good sign. Maybe he could do more. He need to cleanse his lips from being over Sophie's. He leaned in to kiss Rikki and for a second he thought she might let him. How naïve of him.

"No, Zane!" She pushed him away. He looked down at his hands and saw they were bright red. She had burned him. "You can't just kiss me and make this all better. Not after kissing her."

"What do I need to do?" Zane asked. Anything. He'd do anything to keep her. He sell his Zodiac if she asked him too.

"I need you to leave me alone." Rikki told him.

"Okay." Zane said. "Okay, I'll leave you alone tonight and I'll see you tomorrow n-"

"No, Zane!" Rikki said as she came closer to him. "I need you to leave me alone, as in don't call me, don't text me, don't follow me out to Mako or wherever I choose to go."

"For how long?" Zane asked.

"Why don't we try forever?" Rikki said, crossing her arms.

"R-Rikki," Zane started. She didn't understand, he'd do absolutely anything she wanted. Him kissing Sophie didn't mean a damn thing. He only wanted her. "Please."

"It's over, Zane." Rikki scoffed as she walked away from the cafe.

Zane wanted to follow her and keep pleading with her until she took him back. Knowing Rikki, that could take forever.

"Rikki?" She heard her name from her bedroom door. Rikki had stayed home from school the next day. She had told her dad she didn't feel well and managed to hide her tears until after he had left for work. She had spent the day laying in her bed, eating ice cream and chips and numbly watching daytime television. How stereotypical of her. She lost it when two characters in the show she had been watching all day broke up themselves and had been laying face down in her bed ever since.

Rikki jumped up at the sound of Emma's voice. Rikki quickly did her best to wipe her tears before turning to face her friends. She didn't know why she bothered, they'd seen her cry before and she was sure her eyes were incredibly swollen and red. She wasn't fooling anyone.

"Rikki, are you all right?" Cleo asked. Rikki scoffed in response, what a dumb question.

"Yeah, sure Cleo." Rikki replied. "I'm fine."

"Well, it's just we didn't see you at school today and we didn't know if it had anything to do with Za-," Cleo started.

"Don't!" Rikki warned her. "Don't say his name in this house."

"Okay." Emma said as the two girls dropped their bags and took seats at the end of Rikki's bed. "What happened last night? Did he confirm what we said or...?"

"I wish he did." Rikki said. "He just kept lying about it. He... well he um texted me a little while after I left to let me know he was at the JuiceNet."

"I thought the JuiceNet was closed by the time you left." Cleo said.

"Yeah, it was." Rikki said. "I don't know, maybe there was a party or something. It doesn't matter. I went to the cafe and I saw... I saw him..."

"You saw him what?" Emma asked.

"I saw him kissing her." Rikki said as both Cleo and Emma shared surprised looks with each other. They never really liked Zane but they didn't think he would sink this low.

"Rikki, I-" Cleo started. "We're so sorry."

"Yeah, we should have told you when we first saw them together." Emma said.

"It's not your fault." Rikki replied as she picked the lint on her comforter. "I would have kept it a secret too if I were in your shoes."

"So you dumped him?" Emma asked.

"Yeah," Rikki replied as she felt more tears coming on. "He didn't want to admit to anything. He kept playing stupid, acting like he didn't know what I was talking about."

"I'm sorry, Rikki." Cleo said again.

"You know what bothers me the most?" Rikki asked.

"That he lied to you?" Emma guessed.

"He wouldn't tell you the truth?" Cleo asked.

"No," Rikki said. "No, it's got nothing to do with Zane, actually."

"What?" Emma asked.

"The girl he was kissing," Rikki started, holding back a sob at the thought. "I thought she looked familiar. It didn't click though until he said her name was Sophie. I know her."

"You do?" Cleo asked.

"Yeah," Rikki replied. "She was... well she was a bully of mine when I was younger."

"You don't think she manipulated Zane, do you?" Emma asked.

"I don't know." Rikki replied. "It's not like Zane and I always got along. I think... I think it's best I stay away from him until I know what his true intentions are."

Chapter Text

Chapter 21

Zane didn't go to school the next day either. He needed to figure out a way to fix everything with Rikki and a way to avoid Sophie. Every time he was with her, they just seemed to be caught in compromising situations. He couldn't blame Rikki for dumping him, he'd do the same thing if he saw her kissing another guy. Still, he knew he didn't have feelings for Sophie... at least not as strong as he did for Rikki.

Wait, did he have feelings for Sophie? He might. She was friendly, deep, pretty and not a terrible kisser. He reckoned that was all he would need in the past to jump into a relationship with someone but he hesitated now. He wouldn't date Sophie, not if he still stood a chance with Rikki.

He couldn't convince his dad to let him stay home another day. Zane was nervous, he hadn't quite yet solidified a plan to keep Sophie away from him or get Rikki back. He didn't want Sophie to make things worse than they were.

Zane hoped she might be sick today but he knew he wouldn't get that lucky. He took his seat at the back of his first class and wasn't surprised when the familiar red head took her seat beside him.

"Hi, Zane." She said, hesitantly. He could tell she must be nervous too. He didn't say anything back and pretended she wasn't there.

"Look, I'm sorry about the other night." Sophie said. "I had too much to drink and... I don't know what got into me. I certainly never meant for your girlfriend to see it."

"Ex." Zane said, simply still staring straight ahead at the white board at the front of the classroom.

"What?" Sophie asked.

"Ex-girlfriend." Zane replied. He cleared his throat as he felt himself start to choke up again. He was no longer with Rikki. "She dumped me right after."

"Zane, I'm so sorry." Sophie told him. He scoffed in reply. "If there's anything I can do-"

"No," Zane cut her off. "No, I think you've done enough already."

Sophie didn't say anything after that. She sat back in her seat as the two prepared for the class lecture. When the bell rang, Zane already had his stuff packed up and headed to his next class alone. Thankfully, he didn't have class with Sophie this next period. It was the only class he'd be apart from her though. Zane managed to avoid Sophie until lunch. He had chosen to sit at an empty table. Big mistake, it gave her too many seat options to chose from.

"Zane, there must be something I can do." Sophie tried. "I don't want to lose you as a friend."

"You should have thought about that earlier. "Zane said taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Please, Zane." Sophie pleaded again.

"Why do you suddenly care about our friendship so much?" Zane finally spat at her.

"What do you mean, suddenly?" Sophie asked back. She sounded offended and upset for the first time. "I've always care about our friendship. I always have since... well, since..."

"What?" Zane asked.

"Well, there was a girl I was really close with at an old school." Sophie started. "We got on really well but then she moved the next term without telling me. Turns out she was only my friend on a dare. Point being, I value every friendship I can get. I wouldn't want to take advantage of you."

Odd, Zane thought. Didn't Rikki have a similar, nay, the exact same thing happen to her? He supposed that could happen to more than one person. What was the name of Rikki's bully? Sandra? Silvia? Zane couldn't place his finger on it. He remembered convincing Rikki he wasn't dating her on a dare, he really loved her. If only he could convince her, everything with Sophie was nothing. Then, it hit him. He knew how he could convince Rikki everything between him and Sophie meant nothing.

"Sophie!" Zane exclaimed, excited by his own idea. "I think I could use your help with Rikki!"

"Really?" She asked. "What can I do?"

"Well, I figure she'll be at the JuiceNet after school." Zane started. "Will you come with me and tell her it was all a game? That we don't have feelings for each other?"

"I-yeah, sure I can do that." Sophie replied, rather sadly.

"What is it?" Zane asked.

"Oh, nothing." Sophie replied. "Don't worry about it."

"All right." Zane said, taking his trash and the remainder of his lunch to the trash. "I'll see you after school then."

Rikki skipped the next day of school too. Her dad had the early shift all week so he would just assume she'd go to school. Even though Rikki didn't particularly like school, she'd only rarely skip. It was too much of a pain to deal with the makeup work. However, she was far too heartbroken to show her face in school. She was falling too far into her head, having flash backs she would rather not have. She thought of Zane kissing Sophie, she thought of Denman, she thought of her school bullies like Sofia, she thought of her mum leaving on that one raining night...

She'd surely do something she'd regret if she stayed locked up in the trailer any longer. Rikki decided to go for a swim around lunchtime. It was always great to be in the ocean, surrounded by the fish, dolphins, turtles and even the sharks. She thought about the time she saved Zane from a pool of Mako Sharks. Maybe she should have just let them have a go at him.

The thought of Zane brought back all those poor memories again. Rikki knew the ocean had betrayed her for the first time so she figured she should leave. She swam back to the surface and thought she'd go to the JuiceNet. She always took long swims and found herself parched not long afterwards.

She found the JuiceNet wasn't a particularly good place for her to be either. She had far too many memories, good and bad, here with Zane. She thought she should just order her juice and go. It was nearing 3:00, school would be getting out soon and even more teenagers would be flooding the popular hang out. She needed to leave before she risked running into anyone she knew, especially Zane.

Again, he entered her mind and so did all her bad memories. They came flying in with a vengeance, as if they were all competing to see who could destroy her first. First, it was Zane, then her mum, Dr. Denman, Sofia and so many more. Rikki found she was having trouble catching her breath and she thought she might pass out soon.

"Hey," she vaguely saw a boy from another table stand and approach her. Couldn't he tell she wanted to be left alone?

"Are you all right?" He asked. He could barely see him, her vision was going blurry but he seemed concerned. Maybe he could help her.

"Rikki?" Wilfred asked coming out from behind the counter.

"Can't...breathe." She made out in between short breaths.

"You can," the boy said as he lead her to a near by empty booth. "Just focus on breathing, okay? That's the most important thing."

"I... can't." Rikki told him. What stupid advice that was.

"Yes, you can." The boy said. "Just think of good thoughts, happy memories."

Rikki supposed she could at least try the boy's suggestions. She didn't want to pass out here, especially not if Zane could be arriving at any minute. She thought of all the good memories she had with her dad, particularly of him hiding under a sheet and running around their home with her when she was young. She thought of Cleo, Emma and Lewis, all the memories she shared with the girls under the surface and all the surprising things she had in common with Lewis. She started to get a hold of her breathing and her vision returned to normal.

"Feeling better?" The boy asked her. Rikki looked up at the table to meet eyes with him. She couldn't lie, he was cute. She'd still pick Zane over this guy but he was handsome. He had short, blonde hair, tanned skin and blue eyes. Everything from his torso up was chiseled. He seemed sweet too, seeing he helped her when he didn't have to. He probably had girls flocking him at all times.

"Yeah," she replied with a smile. "Thanks. I'll just get my juice and-"

"No, it's all right." He started. "You stay here and make sure you've caught your breath. I'll get it for you. What's your name?"

"Rikki," she responded.

"That's a pretty name." He said. "I'm Will."

The boy named Will stood from the table to get their drinks. Rikki thought she was lucky he was here. She'd be unconscious on the floor if he wasn't. More and more people started to enter the JuiceNet as Will returned with her drink.

"There you are." He said as he set her drink down. "Are you still all right?"

"Yeah, fine." Rikki said. "Why are you so attentive? You didn't have to help me."

"Oh, my friends and I are in town for the week from Perth." Will said. "There's a lifeguard seminar here. I've always loved to help people."

"Well, I'm glad you were here." Rikki said as she stood. "Thanks for helping me."

Will must have also been the friendly type as he grabbed her in a hug once she stood. Rikki hugged him back, rather awkwardly, facing away from the entrance of the JuiceNet. She heard the beads rattle but didn't think anything of it as she backed out of her hug from Will. He returned to his table and left the cafe with his friends.

"Who was that?" Rikki heard the familiar voice from the entrance of the cafe.

Zane ran off to the cafe after what felt like the longest day of school. Sophie was supposed to meet him there a little while later, she had to meet with a teacher about something. Zane didn't mind, he was glad Sophie was going to help him win Rikki back. He hoped and prayed with every fiber in his being that Rikki would believe Sophie and take him back. He felt empty without her.

Zane entered through the main entrance of the JuiceNet Cafe. The beads rattled around him as he took in his surroundings, hoping to find Rikki. It didn't take long but he didn't expect her to be in the arms of another man. A very handsome man at that. Zane felt his masculinity being threatened unlike ever before. That boy wasn't good enough for Rikki, he didn't care who he was. No one was good enough for her, except for him.

"Who was that?" Zane asked as he approached Rikki after the man had walked away. She turned around and gave him her best death glare. Her eyes still looked red and swollen. She had been crying a lot recently. He felt horrible.

"What does it matter who that was?" Rikki asked. "I'm single, I can do whatever I want. Although, according to you, you don't have to be single to do that."

That was a low blow but he deserved it. She didn't answer his question though. Was the boy an old friend or family member? Was he her new boyfriend?

Rikki pushed past him to leave the cafe. Zane needed answers.

"Seriously, who was that?" Zane asked again.

"Use your imagination, Zane." Rikki told him. "I'm sure it won't take you too long to figure it out."

She left the cafe then. If she wasn't wrapped in the arms of a strange, handsome man when he entered, he would have chased after her and tried to stall until Sophie arrived. Rikki was hugging a strange man when he walked in though, and she had refused to tell Zane who he was. Zane thought if he were a friend or family member, Rikki would let him know. He reckoned referring to Sophie as he cousin when Cleo and Emma first spotted them would have been the best idea but then Rikki would have walked in on him kissing his supposed cousin.

Suddenly, Zane didn't feel bad about kissing Sophie. Rikki had clearly moved on, why shouldn't he? Isn't dating someone only days after a breakup just as bad as cheating? Yes, he'd admit, he caused the break up but Rikki had hurt him too. He was doing everything he could think of to get her back and she was already with someone else, less than forty-eight hours later.

"Hey," Zane heard her quietly above him. He had taken a seat in the booth previously occupied by Rikki and her new boyfriend. Sophie stood above him.

"Hi," Zane said back. He noticed something seemed off with Sophie. "What's up?"

"I can't do it, Zane." She told him. "I'm sorry, I know you want her back but... I- I think I might have feelings for you and I can't tell your girlfriend nothing's going on between us."

"All right." Zane replied. "Well, if you have feelings for me, maybe we should go out."

"Really?" Sophie asked, looking up from the booth table she had been staring at since she arrived.

"Sure, why not?" Zane asked. "I'm single, I can do whatever I want."

"Okay." Sophie replied was a smile. "Okay, yeah I'll go out with you."

"Cool." Zane replied. This wasn't what he wanted but he couldn't be single when Rikki wasn't. "I um... I actually have to head out to do some homework so I'll see you tomorrow?"

Sophie grabbed his hands and pulled him down to her to give him a kiss. It didn't feel right to Zane, he thought if he'd be kissing anyone right now it would be Rikki. He thought if he would be dating anyone right now it would be Rikki. Instead, he settled for Sophie.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She said as she let him go.

Once Zane had walked out of the JuiceNet, Sophie stood from her booth to join another girl at a table.

"Did it work?" Miriam asked once Sophie had arrived.

"Perfectly." Sophie said.

Chapter Text

Chapter 22

Zane and Sophie had been together for a few months now. He found that he did indeed like her and would have said she was the best girlfriend he had ever had if it wasn't for Rikki. He found himself thinking of the blonde mermaid more than he cared to admit.

Sophie and Rikki were day and night in a lot of ways. Sophie was bright, bubbly, happy and incredibly approachable. Rikki wasn't necessarily unhappy but she wasn't someone you could just sit down with an strike up a conversation. They both had rather dark pasts, Zane had found. He knew Rikki had gone through some dark things even before Denman but she was always so reluctant to share them with him. Sophie really did overshare. It seemed any time they got into an argument, she would whip out some horrible story from her past and he would feel guilty. He found himself missing the mystery that was Rikki.

He'd seen Rikki a handful of times since the incident in the cafe. They never spoke, he wondered if they ever would again. He hoped they could at least be friends one day.

The one thing he did find odd was he never saw her with that boyfriend of hers. In fact, he never saw the guy around town at all. Gold Coast wasn't exactly small but Zane had seen everyone his age in town at least twice aside from the good looking guy that had held the girl he once loved. Where had this mystery man disappeared to?

Zane wanted to ask Rikki but she wouldn't talk to him. He thought he'd have similar luck trying to get Cleo and Emma's attention. They were probably debating the best method of death for him when the sat in a booth on the other side of the JuiceNet.

Zane supposed he might have a shot with Lewis. The man had always been upfront with him, even before Rikki came into Zane's life. Surely he'd know how she was getting on. The problem was, he was always surrounded by at least one of the girls, it was hard to find him alone. That was until one fateful day when Zane decided to work on the Zodiac that he bumped into Lewis fishing at a nearby dock.

"Lewis!" Zane said as he ran down to the dock. Lewis's scoffed at him as he thought he would.

"What?" He asked in a flat tone. Zane knew Lewis didn't want him here but he could have figured that much for himself.

"I um..." Zane found his mind run blank. He could usually stall with Lewis but he didn't think he'd be able to do so today. "Well, I'm sure you know why I'm here."

"I have no idea." Lewis replied. "Do you want me to let Rikki know how great your new girlfriend is?"

"No," Zane said, instantly. That would be the last thing he'd want Lewis to tell Rikki. "I was just... wondering how she's doing?"

Lewis scoffed again. "I'm sure she wouldn't want me telling you."

"Well... that's rich of her." Zane started. He was getting upset now. "After what she did."

"I'm sorry, did I miss something?" Lewis asked. "What exactly did Rikki do to you?"

"Like you wouldn't know." Zane replied. Maybe this was a bad idea. This conversation was going no where.

"I don't know." Lewis said. "I can't think of anything."

"Like she'd have a boyfriend and not tell you about it." Then again, that did sound like something Rikki would do. She had them stay a secret until she was comfortable telling her friends. But why would she hide this guy? She hid Zane because of his relationship at the time with the rest of the gang.

"Rikki doesn't have a boyfriend." Lewis told him. "She's too heartbroken to have one."

"Shit." Zane said to himself as he walked off the pier, ignoring Lewis's protests. She had lied about the guy she was hugging. She probably only did it to get under his skin. She didn't think Sophie would show up moments later and he'd agree to go out with her. He had really fucked all of this up. He had still stood a chance with Rikki.

Zane abandoned his plans to work on his Zodiac and headed home. He turned his phone off and threw it at the wall of his bedroom. He didn't want to hear from Sophie or anyone else tonight. Was there a way he could talk to Rikki about this? He grabbed a nearby notebook and pen and began scribbling ideas, each one more insane than the next. He had written down a plan to approach her at Mako while riding two stingrays when he groaned and tossed the pen and paper on his bed. It was already dark outside, the stars shining brightly and a full moon risen in the center of the sky. Gold Coast really could be beautiful sometimes.

Zane flopped on his bed as he tried to clear his head. He wouldn't be able to think of a plan tonight. Instead, he thought of all the good times he shared with Rikki. He'd fall into too much of a dark space if he didn't. He thought of the two of them locked on the balcony, he thought of her agreeing to go out with him, he thought of the two of them exchanging 'I love you's in the moon pool for the first time. Sophie couldn't compare to Rikki whatsoever.

Zane swore he heard his bedroom window open and close but that was impossible. Only one person had the key to his window and she would have to be hypnotized to see him right now.

"Hi, stranger." He heard the familiar voice behind him. He jumped off his bed as he took in the blonde beauty behind him.

This had to be a dream.

Rikki was in her bedroom, watching sad movies and again binging on ice cream and other sweets. She was thankful her metabolism was fast and she still went on swims occasionally, otherwise she thought she would explode. She was ignoring her buzzing phone as she was sure Emma, Cleo and Lewis were wondering where she was since it was a full moon. She usually slept over at either Cleo or Emma's house the night of a full moon so they could keep an eye on each other. Rikki couldn't be bothered to leave her bed today. She had seen Zane at the JuiceNet, hugging and kissing Sophie. She would have preferred Zane take a sharp knife to her back so she wouldn't have to continue to watch this. She hadn't done anything wrong, why did she deserve this?

"Again, Rikki?" She heard her dad say as he entered her room. "Is it the boy?"

"No, Dad." Rikki lied. She wasn't sure how convincing she was. "Is it a crime to eat ice cream and sweets every now and again?"

"No, but your friends say you do this whenever you get upset." Terry told his daughter. What traitor friends she had. "Why don't we go out for dinner tonight?"

"No!" Rikki said, a little more forcefully than she wanted to. She had closed her curtains on her window but she was sure the full moon was up. "No, I mean that's okay. I think I just want to stay in tonight."

"All right." Terry sighed. "I suppose that's fine. Why don't we let in some fresh air?"

"Dad, no!" Rikki said just as Terry pulled back her curtains and revealed the full moon staring right back at her. She entered her state of hypnosis. Usually the full moon would beckon her to Mako but tonight she found it was calling her to a different destination.

"Rikki?" Her dad asked her. He must have been talking to her earlier.

"Hm?" Rikki asked, peeling her eyes away from the moon.

"Isn't that better?" Terry asked.

"Yes, much better." Rikki said. "Thanks, Dad. The moon is beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I suppose so." Terry said. "I'll leave you to it then. Let me know if you need anything."

"All right." Rikki replied. She waited until she heard her dad leave before she made her move.

Rikki left the trailer with no possessions but the clothes on her back. She felt like she was getting hot but not like the time she set Mako Island on fire. This was a different kind of hot, one she had never felt before. All she could think about was Zane. She had to get to his house. She didn't care if he was in a relationship, he was supposed to be with her. If Rikki saw Sophie in Zane's room she'd set her on fire. It served the bitch right for what she had done to Rikki when they were little and now. Zane belonged to Rikki and no one else.

Rikki arrived at the Bennett house and snuck in like she had done so many times previously. She only hit a barrier when she noticed Zane's window was locked. As luck would have it, she found the key in her pants pocket. She opened it and crawled in the room to find him alone, laying on his bed, surrounded by crumpled papers.

"Hi, stranger." Rikki said in a voice she didn't know she possessed. It was, dare she say, seductive.

Zane jumped off the bed at her voice. He looked surprised to see her in his room. Why? Couldn't he tell how much she wanted him? How much she needed him?

"Rikki?" He asked as if he couldn't believe his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I need you, Zane." She said in the same voice as before. "My life hasn't been the same without you."

"I know what you mean." He told her. "I've missed you so much. I-I only dated Sophie because I thought you were with someone else. That guy I saw you hugging at the JuiceNet."

Rikki walked closer to him. "I was just mad about Sophie. I shouldn't have let you think that other guy was my boyfriend. I shouldn't have even let you kiss her."

"How could you have prevented that?" Zane asked.

"I could have found a way." She told him. "I was a terrible girlfriend."

"No," Zane argued. "No, it was me that was terrible. I shouldn't have spent all that time with Sophie. That was playing with fire."

"It's okay." Rikki said as she now stood directly in front of him. It wouldn't be a strain to kiss him. In fact, that's exactly what she wanted to do. Maybe that's what she needed to cool her down, just a kiss. She'd gone months without one.

"All is forgiven." She said before she closed the gap between the two of them. The kiss was soft at first and she felt a hint cooler. She needed the kiss again only more forceful. She held him to her lips and let her tongue slip between his own. Yes, this was working it wouldn't take too long for her to cool down if they just did this all night.

Rikki pushed Zane into his bed without breaking their make out session. She felt herself get cooler and cooler the longer and more passionately they kissed. This was exactly what she needed. She finally released her hold on Zane's lips and sat up, suddenly feeling very tired.

"Wow." He exclaimed as he sat up beside her. "That was...wow."

"Yeah," Rikki chuckled. "Are you tired? I'm tired."

"I guess so, yeah." Zane replied.

"Do you mind if I stay the night?" Rikki asked him, looking at him with puppy eyes.

"No," Zane exhaled. He had hoped she would ask that. "Not at all."

Rikki moved to the top of the bed before crawling under the covers. Sleep was taking her away fast. She felt Zane join her underneath and drape an arm over her like he was wont to do when they were dating.

"I never stopped loving you, you know that?" Zane told her.

"I know." Rikki replied. "Me neither."

It was the first true thing she had said all night.

Chapter Text

Chapter 23

Sophie stood outside the closed juice cafe waiting for her partner in crime to arrive. Their plan to get Zane away from Rikki wasn't a total disaster but it wasn't going as well as the pair had hoped. She and Zane were still dating but she could tell he had no interest in her, even after she wore out pages of sob stories from the blonde girl's stupid black book.

Sophie didn't know why her cousin wanted to keep Zane and Rikki anyway from each other. She played along because she was chaotic at heart. She couldn't explain it, she just liked seeing disasters happen, especially at her own hands. She didn't ask questions when Miriam said she needed her help but now that things were starting to spiral, Sophie wondered what Miriam's motives were.

"You called?" She heard her cousin's voice from behind her.

"Yeah." Sophie said. "I don't think this plan of yours is working. He's still obsessed with her. I worn this book out, he knows everything."

"Hm." Miriam sighed as she tried to think up another plan. "Well, we could always resort to plan B."

"What's Plan B?" Sophie asked.

"Not as nice as Plan A, I'll tell you that much." Miriam said as she snatched the diary from Sophie's grip and started flipping through the pages.

"Why do you care about this so much?" Sophie finally decided to ask. "What does it matter who he's with?"

Miriam looked up to answer her when something else caught her eye. "The hell?"

Sophie looked out to the bay to see Rikki walking past them. She didn't bother to look their direction, she was looking straight up to the moon in the sky as if her life depended on it.

"What's she doing here?" Sophie asked.

"I don't know." Miriam replied pushing past Sophie. "But I'm going to find out."

Sophie ran after Miriam to see what was going on. Rikki didn't seem normal, a normal person would have wondered why two people were hanging out at the closed juice cafe. A normal person wouldn't walk straight ahead, only looking at the moon. Rikki even ignored Miriam calling her name.

"We know your secret!" Miriam finally shouted at her. This seemed to catch the curly haired girl's ear. She stopped walking and turned around to face the other two. Miriam still had a smug face on but Sophie's face dropped at the intimating look on Rikki's.

"You heard me," Miriam continued. "You're just some freak."

"Miriam!" Sophie tried to calm her cousin down. Rikki was clearly not in a good mental state.

Rikki took a few steps forward. Sophie felt as if she had seen a ghost.

"You know nothing." Rikki spat back. Just as soon as she had finished her sentence, a line of fire burst out of the ground and separated Rikki from the two girls. Miriam and Sophie screamed at the fire's arrival and Rikki continued on to whatever destination she had.

Miriam groaned and ran back to the JuiceNet. Sophie figured she would follow her, it wouldn't do them any good to just stand in front of the fire that suddenly appeared.

"What the hell was that?" Sophie asked once she had returned.

"How should I know?" Miriam asked returning to the diary. "Ha, I found it."

"Found what?" Sophie asked.

"Just give me a minute." Miriam said, reading the page in front of her. She looked up to the moon in front of her before turning back to Sophie.

"Fancy a trip to Mako Island?" Miriam asked.

Sophie wasn't given much of a choice as she followed Miriam out to her father's boat. They arrived a while after and she helped Miriam secure the boat on the shore.

"What are we doing?" Sophie asked Miriam as she walked into the forest.

"Trying to find this moon pool." Miriam said.

"Why?" Sophie asked.

"According to this diary, it's where Rikki became a mermaid." Miriam said.

"No, come on," Sophie whined. "This has gone too far, Miriam. I don't want to be a mermaid."

"Fine." Miriam replied. "You can just watch."

"Seriously, why do you care about this so much?" Sophie asked. "You do realize what you're sacrificing, right? You can't go to pool parties or the beach anymore and-"

"I'm well aware." Miriam said. "But the risk is well worth the reward."

Miriam only took a few more steps before she slipped on a rock and fell under a hidden tunnel. Sophie shouted after her. Miriam told her she was all right and beckoned her down the tunnel. Sophie wasn't sure if she wanted to but she followed nonetheless.

"Miriam, what the hell?" Sophie said once she had reached the bottom. It was a steep fall.

"Do you hear that?" Miriam said. Sophie was going to tell her she was being crazy but then she heard it. It sounded like bubbling water.

"What is it?" Sophie asked.

"What we came here for." Miriam replied.

Sophie followed Miriam through the tunnel to see the water bubbling in a small pool. How odd, what would a pool of water be doing in the center of a volcano? Before she could ask what was happening, Miriam dropped the book and jumped in the water.

"Miriam, what the hell is wrong with you?!" Sophie exclaimed.

"It's how Rikki became a mermaid." Miriam said. "And now I will too."

Miriam was only in the pool for a few seconds before the moon passed the opening above and the water stopped bubbling. Miriam stayed in the pool, her body refusing to transform into a mermaid.

"What the hell?" Miriam whined. "The diary was really clear."

"Maybe it knew you had bad intentions." Sophie suggested.

"How would it know that?" Miriam asked. Sophie shrugged in response.

"Who knows?" Sophie replied. "There's clearly some weird magic happening around here. Let's just go home."

"Fine." Miriam replied as she drug herself out of the pool.

They returned to the boat and rode it back to the main land. They said their goodbyes shortly after they arrived and went to their respective homes.

The next morning, Miriam awoke in the early morning. She decided she'd take a shower before pouring over Rikki's diary to see if she could figure out what went wrong last night. Would she need to be alone for the transformation to happen? Was there some sort of magic she'd need to perform? Miriam couldn't remember being so obsessed with an idea before.

Miriam turned the tap on and entered her large, private shower a little while later, leaving her phone on a nearby side table. She was running her hands through her hair when it happened. She found she couldn't stand on her legs anymore and she fell to the ground, somehow avoiding breaking her arm or worse.

Miriam gasped in delight as she reached for her phone on the nearby table. She turned her new, orange tail from side to side, admiring it's beauty.

"What is it?" She heard the voice of the redhead girl on the other line.

"You're never going to believe this." Miriam said.

Chapter Text

Chapter 24

Zane woke up the next morning with the sun shining bright in his eyes. He felt a weight on his arm and he realized Rikki had fallen asleep next to him. The last night had been one of the best in his life. Surely this meant they were back together. Zane would have to apologize to Sophie and go running back to Rikki. Sophie was a nice girl, things would work out for her.

As soon as Zane had gotten a baring on his surroundings he heard his phone ring. He grabbed it, jumped out of bed and took the call to his bathroom. Rikki looked like she was still sleeping peacefully, he didn't want to wake her.

"Hello?" Zane asked as he answered the phone.

"Zane!" He heard Emma exclaim on the other line. Why was she calling him? "Where have you been, I've been trying to reach you for hours."

"Sorry, I just woke up." Zane replied. "What's going on?"

"It's Rikki," Emma said. "She's gone missing, you haven't seen her have you?"

"Yeah, she's here." Zane replied.

"Of course she is." Emma muttered.

"What was that?" Zane asked.

"Zane, we think Rikki got moonstruck last night." Moonstruck? What the hell did that mean? "She was spending the night with her dad when he called us saying she had snuck out. Cleo and I couldn't go look for her so Lewis has been looking all night. We've been trying to reach you since we found out."

"No, she's here and she's fine." He said, peaking out into his bedroom to still see her sleeping soundly on his bed. "It was a great night last night."

"How so?" Emma asked in surprise. He supposed Rikki didn't tell her friends what her intentions were last night.

"I'm sure she'll tell you about it when she's ready." Zane said with a smile on his face.

"No, I need you to tell me everything that happened right now." Emma practically screamed into the phone. Zane had known her for ages, she was as serious as he'd ever heard her.

"Why? What's the big deal?" Zane asked. Why did it matter to Emma who he spent the night with? Why did it matter what he did with Rikki? She was a big girl, she could take care of herself.

"Rikki never explained the full moon to you, did she?" Emma asked.

"Yeah," Zane replied, remembering clearly. "The full moon came over the volcano opening at Mako when you guys were in the moon pool. That's why you're mermaids."

"Is that all she said about it?" Emma asked.

"What else is there to know?" Zane asked back.

"A lot." Emma sighed. "Look, when a mermaid sees the full moon she kind of gets... hypnotized."

"Hypnotized?" Zane asked. He had a really bad feeling about this.

"Yeah." Emma started. "It's happened to all of us, it's different every time. I wanted to eat so much fish, Cleo was a siren, Rikki set everything, including you, on fire. Basically, it's not us in there... well not really. Maybe a part of us, I don't know but we don't know what we're doing or why we are doing it. We can't remember anything the next day either. It's like we blackout as soon as we see the moon."

"Wonderful." Zane replied, feeling the largest pit in his stomach. "I've got to go."

"Zane, wait-" he heard Emma say before he ended the call.

Zane hung his head as he slid onto the floor. Rikki wasn't herself, she didn't know what was going on last night. She didn't want to make out with him or get back together. Why would she want to when she didn't want to talk to him? Zane should have known something was going on, he just wanted her back so badly an almost sick desire took over him. It wasn't completely uncharacteristic of Rikki to change moods quickly but it was uncharacteristic of her to make a move, when it came to physical touch. He had put her in a position she didn't want to to be in. Why couldn't he have seen it before?

Zane pulled himself off the floor and threw on a clean t-shirt and a pair of pants. He looked outside of his bathroom and saw Rikki still sleeping soundly. He felt incredibly guilty. He had spent the night with her and she didn't want to. She would never remember it. He decided it would be best if he took a seat in one of his chairs to wait for her to wake up. He at least wanted to make sure she made it out of his room okay.

One of the first things Rikki registered when she woke was she was not in her room. Where was she? She panicked slightly, the last time she woke up confused about her location was when she had been kidnapped by Denman. The last she could remember she was watching television and eating rocky road ice cream. Her dad had gone to her window and...

Fuck.

She got moonstruck. What had she done last night? Where was she now? As Rikki took in her surroundings, she found she knew exactly where she was. She needed to leave as soon as possible.

She sat up and was surprised to find she wasn't alone in the room. She was startled by the man sitting in the chair opposite of her.

"Hey." Zane said as she still just stared at him. She needed to leave but a part of her wanted to stay. She needed to figure out what she did last night anyway.

"Hi." Rikki replied as kindly as she could. "What happened?"

"I guess you were moonstruck." Zane said.

"No shit." Rikki replied as she rubbed her eyes. "What did I do? Did I set anything on fire?"

"No," Zane said. "You snuck into my room, we talked and um..."

"And what?" Rikki asked.

"You kissed me." Zane said. "A lot."

Rikki shook her head. Of course she went after Zane once she was moonstruck. The moon could easily tell she still had feelings for him. Maybe it thought it was doing her a favor. She couldn't be with him, not now. She didn't trust him, she couldn't trust him. If it wasn't for his kiss with Sophie and then proceeding to date her, she'd be more than happy to take him back.

"That's all?" Rikki asked. If anything else would have happened, she would need to know.

"That's all." Zane said.

Rikki pushed the covers back and opened up Zane's window. She had to leave, she couldn't be here. She ignored Zane's protests as she climbed down the side of his house and left. She thought he might chase after her but she knew he couldn't climb down like she could. He'd have to make it past Harrison on the ground floor.

Rikki thought going to the moon pool or her home would be too predictable. She decided to go to Emma's instead. She knew both girls and possibly Lewis would be there. Zane might find her eventually but he'd have to get through her friends first.

When Rikki walked past the JuiceNet on the way to Emma's she noticed something strange. The grass was all green as normal aside from a solid, long line that was black and charred. What had happened here? Wouldn't a fire have spread either to the JuiceNet or into the water? That is unless it wasn't a normal fire. Had she made a stop by the JuiceNet last night? It was still early, she knew the cafe wasn't open yet. However, she saw the set of beaded curtains blowing in the wind. Had she done something inside the cafe too? She needed to be sure.

Rikki ran inside and started inspecting every inch of the cafe. Everything looked to be in order. Why was that door open? Had Wilfred forgotten to lock something? Rikki shook it off as she went to walk out of the JuiceNet. The beads on the opposite entrance rattled behind her. Rikki prayed it wasn't Wilfred, she wouldn't know how to explain her appearance in the cafe. Oh, I just blacked out last night so I wanted to make sure I didn't destroy the cafe? Ha, good one.

"Looking for something?" Rikki heard a voice behind her. She turned around, letting her back face the main entrance to see who had entered the cafe.

"I don't know what you mean." Rikki said as she took in Miriam and Sophie's appearances. Why were they here? Were they just going to call the cops on her for breaking in? Better yet, why was Zane's current girlfriend hanging out with his ex? How would they know each other? Rikki remembered Sofia had mentioned having a cousin in Gold Coast. Was that cousin Miriam? What games were they playing?

"All right then," Miriam started. "I guess you don't want this back after all."

Miriam pulled an item from behind her back and Rikki's heart dropped as she laid her eyes on the leather bound, black journal she had been missing for so long.

AN: Hi, guys! Long time no see. I'm sorry about the delay on this chapter. To be honest, I'm not as in love with this story as I once was. I made the mistake of posting it before I could see the ending and now it's grown to be must longer than I ever thought it would be. I can see the ending now and I'll do my best to get there. I hate it when I find a story I love and the author doesn't finish it. Anyway, I'm going to be posting a new chapter every Friday now to give myself time to write some more.

I've also fallen in love with another Zikki story if you guys aren't tired with my obsession yet. I'll hopefully be posting that one soon!

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Chapter 26

Emma was pacing back and forth in her living room. Her parents had taken Elliot to a swimming competition and she had decided to stay behind, much to their surprise. She'd love to see Elliot compete and doubted she'd get splashed if they sat high enough in the bleachers but she was too worried about her blonde, curly haired best friend.

"Stop worrying." Lewis told her from the kitchen. "I'm sure Rikki's fine."

"Yeah," Cleo echoed her boyfriend's sentiments. "I don't think Zane would hurt her... at least not while she was under the influence of the full moon."

"He didn't seem to know anything about the full moon." Emma said. "Who knows what happened? It's not like Rikki to not answer her phone this late in the day."

"Maybe she left it at her home." Cleo suggested.

"Why wouldn't she be home yet?" Emma asked. "It's nearly mid-morning."

As if Emma had just made a summons, the front door opened and Emma watched with relief as Rikki walked in. She was about to run up to her best friend and hug her but she watched with dread and she realized Rikki wasn't entering her house alone.

"What's he doing here?" Emma asked as she motioned to Zane.

"We need to talk." Rikki said, ignoring Emma's question and walking into the main room, Zane in tow. The other two looked confused as to why Zane was there as well but they weren't nearly as aggressive as Emma was.

"Hey, you found your journal." Cleo said, noticing the leather, black book in Rikki's hand.

"Yeah," Rikki said, giving Cleo and odd face. "That's kind of what we need to talk about."

Rikki and Zane took a seat on the opposite couch, the same couch she had sat on when Emma, Cleo and Lewis had told her they suspected Zane might have been cheating on her with Sophie. Rikki dove into her encounter with Miriam. She told them how she had stolen the journal, used Sophie to get Zane away from her, how Miriam herself had become a mermaid just last night and how she was threatening to expose the three girls if Rikki didn't leave town.

"Well, we could take her on, right?" Cleo asked. "It's three against one. Besides, we've had our powers longer."

"Is that really a risk we'd want to take?" Rikki asked back. "There's no guarantee we could beat her."

"I could always freeze any water she throws at us." Emma suggested.

"Yeah, and I could always evaporate it." Rikki said. "But again, who's to say we could beat it for sure?"

"Since when are you so afraid of taking risks?" Emma challenged. "If anything it's been me and Cleo talking you down from risky things."

"Yeah, well a lot has changed in the past few months, hasn't it, Em?" Rikki said. She earned a round of silence and room full of heads dropping to the floor with her statement.

"When I was... locked up with Denman," Rikki continued. "I didn't know if I was going to survive. Or if I did, I didn't know what life I was going to have. I could have spent the rest of my life with a tag on my tail or in some tank. It could have been with several marine biologists gawking at me or just as entertainment for some billionaires. That fear... you don't know what it's like and I'll be damned if I let it happen to either of you. Unless you have a full-proof way of stopping Miriam, I'm not risking it."

Rikki felt Zane lay his hand on her thigh during her speech. She was happy to have him back in her life. She didn't know if she was ready to take him back as a boyfriend or not but they could have that conversation later, likely right after this meeting. She knew he wouldn't stay behind and she doubted he would just let her return home. Frankly, she wanted to have the conversation with him sooner rather than later.

"So what do we do then?" Cleo asked. "We don't want you to leave."

"I don't know if we have another choice." Rikki sighed.

"There might be a way." Lewis chimed in for the first time. Rikki knew his plan would either be genius or the dumbest thing she'd heard.

"What's that?" Emma asked, twisting her body to face him.

"Well, I understand it's cruel but it might be all we have." He started. "Denman doesn't care if the mermaid she captures is your or not, Rikki. She just wants to capture a mermaid."

"Lewis, I told you I'm not letting Denman get any of us." Rikki said.

"I wasn't talking about you guys." Lewis responded. "You said Miriam's a mermaid now, right?"

"That is cruel." Rikki said as she caught on to Lewis's plan.

"Well, isn't what she did to you two cruel as well?" Lewis asked. "We can't win this battle by fighting back clean."

"Lewis is right." Zane said. "It doesn't look like there's any other option."

Rikki gave Zane a disgusted look. Miriam had never been the nicest person to Rikki or her friends even before Rikki and Zane started dating but she wouldn't want to put her worst enemy in that position with Denman. The fact that Lewis had suggested it was awful but Zane agreeing with it was that much worse. She shook her head at him as if to let him know how disappointed she was. He looked down at his lap and removed his hand from her thigh.

"If you want a full proof option, that's it." Emma told her.

"I can't believe you are all agreeing with this." Rikki said. "That's a dumb idea. I'd rather leave town then sell anyone out to Denman."

Rikki jumped off the couch then. She didn't want to listen to this anymore. She reckoned it was easy for them to think it wasn't a terrible idea, they hadn't been in Denman's clutches before, they didn't know how it truly felt. The helplessness you would feel, not to mention the collateral damage that came after if Miriam happened to get out. Rikki would just plan on leaving town.

As soon as she left the room, she heard footsteps coming after her. She didn't need any more that one guess to guess who.

"Rikki, wait." She heard Zane follow after her. She didn't want to speak to him right now, he had pissed her off.

"Please." He pleaded as he jumped in front of her.

"Don't." She replied. "How could you possibly think that was a good idea?"

"It would get her out of our hair." Zane shrugged.

"You just..." Rikki started. "You don't know what it feels like, being that helpless. I didn't know if I was going to live, Zane. If you and Lewis hadn't shown up and saved me, I probably would have died or at least lived some awful life. Who would show up and save Miriam?"

"We could." Zane replied.

"What?" Rikki asked.

"Look, we could turn her in to Denman, let Denman have her way with Miriam for a bit and then we could save her." Zane said. "She would know not to mess with you then."

"No." Rikki said. "We aren't doing that either. I'm all for hurting Miriam, I know she hurt the fuck out of us but that's too far. There have to be some limits."

"Okay." Zane told her.

"Okay?" Rikki asked.

"Yeah, okay." Zane said. "If you don't want to do that, fine. You're right, none of us know how it feels. I can't imagine it's anything less of horrible. We'll find another way."

"Okay." Rikki replied after a moment. "Thank you."

"Of course, anything for you." He said. "Speaking of, I reckon we should have a talk about... us?"

"Yeah, probably so." Rikki said. "I should go home first, let my dad know I'm okay and take a bath."

"All right." Zane replied as Rikki walked off.

"Rikki!" He called after her once she had taken a few paces.

"What is it?" Rikki asked.

"It's good to talk to you again." Zane told her with a smile. Rikki couldn't help from smiling back.

"Yeah, you too." She replied before she walked off to her home.

Chapter Text

Chapter 27

Zane met Rikki at the beach they always walked along when they were dating. It was usually pretty empty which always made it nice to talk about her mermaid life and any other secrets they might not want others to catch wind of. They usually walked hand in hand or with their arms around each other but that didn't seem right now. They supposed they were at least friends but they didn't know if they could be a couple yet.

"I'm sorry." Zane started after a few paces of awkward silence. "I should have known something didn't add up with Sophie and I shouldn't have hid her from you."

"I reckon it's not really your fault." Rikki said. "I'm not the only one with some trauma, how were you supposed to know those were my stories, not hers?"

"That's another thing that makes me sick." Zane said. "I wanted to hear all of that from you. I know you wouldn't tell me all of that at once but I guess I figured maybe over time, you'd open up to me."

"That's true." Rikki replied. "I hate it too. I hate everything they did."

Zane looked to her and saw she was staring at her feet as they walked. She looked back to him when she felt his eyes on her and gave him a forced smile before looking back down at the sand.

"Can I asked you something?" Rikki asked. Zane had opened his mouth to speak but he wasn't going to spout out anything but gibberish to fill the awkward void.

"Sure." Zane replied.

"Did you have feelings for Sophie?" Rikki asked. "Like real feelings?"

"Yes." Zane replied. There was no use in lying to Rikki. If she was going to run away from him or slap him, at least he was being honest. "I guess that might be why I never told you about her. I mean, she was nice, smart, pretty... but I realized even before she revealed her true intentions that the feelings I had for her were nothing compared to the feelings I had for you."

"This sucks." Rikki replied with a cold laugh. "Who's to say anything would have happened between us if they didn't show up?"

"Yeah, you're right." Zane said. "But it did happen and we can't change that."

"You're right." Rikki replied.

"So..." Zane started. "What happens now?"

"I don't know." Rikki replied. "There's a lot to think about."

Rikki cut across him and took a seat on one of the shallow dunes. Zane followed her, sitting close but still giving her some space. He didn't think she'd want to be wrapped up in his arms right now.

"Do you trust me?" Zane asked.

"I don't know." Rikki replied. "I know they tricked you but... you went along with it. You didn't tell me about Sofia. You didn't-"

"Sofia?" Zane asked. "Since when does she go by that?"

"She probably hasn't for a while." Rikki scoffed knowing she had been caught. "Do you remember the bully I told about? The one who pretended to be my friend?"

"Sofia." Zane said aloud, finally remembering the name Rikki had told him of so long ago. "Wait, so Sophie was...?"

"Yeah, that was her." Rikki responded.

"Well... fuck." Zane replied. He felt even worse for seemingly antagonizing one of Rikki's dark memories.

"You couldn't have known." Rikki said. "I'm not upset with you because of that. I'm upset you didn't tell me about her."

"I know, that's fair." Zane said. "I should have told you. I'm sorry."

Rikki shuffled her feet in the sand as she thought about what to say next. Zane had made a mistake but did that mean she couldn't trust him? Did that mean she'd have to loose faith in him completely or could they land on some middle ground?

"Who was the guy you were hugging the JuiceNet?" Zane asked.

"I don't really know." Rikki replied. "I had gone there to get some juice after a swim and I... I started thinking about us and it hurt. It hurt so much I couldn't breathe. He came over and talked me down. I think he said he was a lifeguard or something from Perth. He was just in town for the weekend. He hugged me out of nowhere, I didn't really want to hug him back but I didn't want to be rude."

"So I threw away our relationship for nothing." Zane mused aloud. "Great."

Rikki gave him a sad smile. "I suppose it would have been easier if someone wasn't trying to sabotage us. Do you have any idea why Miriam is so hellbent about this? Why would she go to such lengths to keep us apart?"

"I'm not sure." Zane said before he remembered something silly for years ago. "Well, I suppose I never thought of her as a girlfriend but she might have thought of me as boyfriend."

"All right." Rikki said. That much seemed obvious. "So...?"

Zane rolled his eyes ever so slightly as Rikki beckoned him to elaborate. "So, because I never thought of her as a girlfriend, I never officially broke up with her when we started dating."

"You're joking, right?" Rikki asked with a laugh. Zane looked at her the same way he did when he had made a mistake. It was Rikki's turn to scoff and roll her eyes. "Still, this is insane."

"That's really saying something." Zane said. "More insane than a mermaid and a guy who has believed in them for months now."

"Yeah, you're right." Rikki replied.

Rikki smiled at him before she looked out to the ocean and her smile dropped. She was still being threatened by Miriam. Miriam had been right, Rikki wasn't sure if she could handle being a mermaid without Cleo or Emma. Maybe there was a way to defeat her aside from involving Denman, maybe there wasn't. Things didn't seem to be looking too bright at the moment.

"We'll find a way to beat her." Zane said as he reached for her hand. He was surprised when she didn't back away. "I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep." Rikki said with a cold laugh. "How would we beat her?"

"Maybe you should just stay home from school." Zane suggested.

"She'll get me at another date." Rikki said. "I have to go back eventually. Or I could just run away."

"No, we'll all make sure that doesn't happen." Zane told her as he squeezed her hand in his. "We'll find a way, Rikki."

"I don't see how." She responded. Rikki remembered what Zane had said in the cafe earlier that day. "Would you really come with me?"

"Of course." Zane replied. "I don't have much of a life here anyway."

"You know that's a lie." Rikki shook her head. "You have some great friends here. Despite what you might think, I can tell your dad loves you. He'd be a wreck if you left."

"Since when do you defend my dad?" Zane asked.

"Don't get used to it." Rikki warned. "Besides, it would be kind of weird running off with you."

"Why's that?" Zane asked.

"Well, last I checked you weren't my boyfriend." Rikki said. "That might be a bit of an awkward living situation."

"I could be your boyfriend if you wanted me to be." Zane shrugged.

Rikki was torn. A part of her wanted nothing more than to be his girlfriend again. However, another part of her knew she had much bigger fish to fry. Debating whether Zane could be her boyfriend again or not was not her top priority.

"I don't know." She said. "I don't think... I'm ready yet. I need to deal with this Miriam thing first."

"Okay." Zane replied.

"Really?" Rikki asked. "You're okay with being strung along?"

"For you, sure." Zane replied. "And if you don't want to be in a relationship with me after all of this is over, that's fine. I'd just... I'd really love to be your friend again."

"Yeah," Rikki replied. "I'd love to be your friend again, too."

"Then it's settled." Zane said as he stood up.

"Where are you going?" Rikki asked him as she stood with him.

"I thought I'd grab a juice." Zane said. "You want to come? I'm buying."

"Can friends buy each other juices?" Rikki asked.

"If not, I've been in a relationship with Nate for far too long." Zane joked.

"I still think this is a bad idea." Cleo said to her two friends.

"What other choice have we got?" Emma asked. "Rikki will be taken away from us otherwise."

"Still, she said we shouldn't do this." Cleo said. "She's the only one who really knows how it feels."

"You know Rikki would play the big hero, Cleo." Emma said. "She'd leave if it meant keeping us safe."

Lewis walked back into the living room, slapping his phone shut against his hand.

"Did it work?" Emma asked.

"Yep, told Denman I spotted a mermaid off the coast." Lewis replied. "She'll be here in a few days."