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Chapter Text

Chapter 1: Rikki's First Challenge

Rikki Chadwick continued to stare out the window of her dad's old pickup truck. The scenery had been fairly dull so far and the rusty, old trailer park wasn't any better. Her dad stopped at what looked like the smallest trailer in the park. Just perfect.

"This is it!" Terry exclaimed as he stepped out of the car and held his arms up as if he was displaying the small, rusted home as a lost treasure. "Home, Sweet Home."

"For now at least," Rikki's mother, Shelia mumbled. "You know the only reason we moved all the way out here was so you could get a job where you make more money and we could get a nicer home."

"Of course, love." Terry said as he took a few steps forward and kissed his wife. "We'll be out of here in no time."

Rikki rolled her eyes. She really didn't like either of her parents. Her dad was good at heart but she reckoned he wasn't cut out to be a parent. She couldn't remember the last time he remembered her birthday or school graduations. She had spent a Father's Day in school alone one year because he had forgotten the important event. He also had a temper she likely inherited that cost him job after job. Her mother was as cold as ice. Rikki thought she must not be the daughter her mother imagined having. She wanted a girl who would play with dolls and put bows in her hair. She wanted a daughter who would wear dresses constantly, not the baggy t-shirt and sweatpants she currently wore. She had also been brought up in a family with lots of money and seemed frustrated they couldn't plant a money tree in their backyard. For someone who cared about money so much, she never worked or tried to get a job of her own. What a winning combination they were.

"What do you think, Rikki?" Terry asked his daughter.

"It's a bit small but..." Rikki started. "I'm sure it will feel like home soon." She tried to stay optimistic, she had to stay positive.

"Don't get too comfy, Rikki." Her mother warned her. "We won't be here for long, I'll make sure of it."

"I think I'm going to go find a race track." Rikki said. "It's not like we have much to unpack."

Shelia looked like she was going to say something before Terry gave his daughter his stamp of approval. Rikki reckoned she was a daddy's girl.

Some of Rikki's earliest memories consisted of helping her dad repair an old Harley motorcycle. He was a mechanic after all. She had so much fun helping him with it, she asked for a bike herself nearly everyday. Her family never had much money but she was thrilled to see her dad exiting their garage with a motocross bike a few days after her seventh birthday (of course he had forgotten her birthday). Her mum had yelled at him for getting her the bike but Rikki couldn't care less. She started competing with the boys later that year, it wasn't like there were any girls leagues nearby. Her learning curve wasn't as quick as theirs but she had won a championship in nearly every town they lived in. She supposed she might be scouted if they had managed to stay in one place for longer than a year.

It was freeing to have the wind blowing in her hair. Her helmet stayed rested on her handlebars and her suit was safely stored in her backpack. She sped past two girls, one with dark, curly hair and tanned skin and the other with golden, blonde, straight hair. She doubted they would know where the racetrack was but they looked at least approachable.

"Hey," Rikki shouted after them as she brought her bike to a stop. The dark haired girl still looked inviting but the blonde girl gave her a glare. "Do you guys happen to know where the racetrack is?"

"Yeah," the dark haired girl responded. "Just follow the shore and take a right at the track sign. You can't miss it."

"Thanks." Rikki replied as she went to speed off to the track.

"You might want to put your helmet on." The blonde girl said. "For safety."

Rikki rolled her eyes and placed her helmet on her head. She gave the girl a shrug and then sped off to the tracks.

The dark haired girl had been right, it was easy to find. Rikki thought she might like this track more than her previous one, it had several different routes of various difficulties, she could really train however she wanted. She found a stall she thought was open, shed her backpack and went to take her helmet off before she was rudely interrupted.

"You think this is your stall, mate?" A boy with light brown hair asked her.

"I don't see anyone else in here." Rikki told him. There were several bikes zooming past them, she hoped he heard her with her helmet on. She knew the mouthpiece muffled her voice and made it deeper.

"Smart guy, huh?" The boy said as he walked into the stall. "Tell you what, I'm not unreasonable. I'll race you for it if you want. Only one guy here has ever beaten me."

"Deal." Rikki said. "But I need to use this stall to change into my gear so shoo."

The boy scoffed at her before leaving. Once he was out of sight, Rikki removed her helmet and changed into her racing suit. She supposed it wasn't as new and flashy as the boy's had been but she preferred her subtlety to his obnoxious, yellow suit. She had gotten the same black suit over and over again.

Rikki exited the stall and rode her bike up to the starting line were the boy was. It looked like he had made this race all but official, writing his name on that track's racing board.

"Add your name and then we'll get started." He told her. Rikki turned around and wrote her name beneath his. His name was Nate, she noted. She guessed it would be nice to know his name so she could avoid him in the future. Rikki had never had a boyfriend but she knew she'd never date a guy in motocross. They were all jerks.

"All right, gents." A man said once she had written her name on the board and mounted her bike. "You'll need to complete one lap on my count. Whoever makes it back to the finish line wins the stall. On three, one...two..."

The number "two" had barely exited the boy's lips before Nate took off. Rikki lifted her feet and took after the boy. She also knew his bike was nicer and newer than hers. He could objectively go faster than she could but she just needed to outsmart him. She hadn't won any race by having the nicest bike, it was always her brains that had helped her. The track was pretty standard with several hills and twists. This guy at the least wasn't a beginner, he would have fallen off his bike less than halfway through the race.

Rikki stayed just behind him a majority of the race. She spotted a sharp turn coming up and she knew she could throw him with it. Sharp turns were always her strength. Rikki took the inside and nearly let her shoulder touch the dirt beneath her, forcing Nate to take the longer outside track. She took the lead on him and sped to the finish line knowing she had won the stall.

Nate sped into the finish line just moments later, hanging his head before he flung his helmet on the ground.

"Good race." Rikki told him as she extended her hand. She was confused when he didn't shake it. Was he that bad of a sport? It was just a stall after all, she probably wouldn't use it for the rest of the day and then he could grab it tomorrow if he got there before she did.

"Do you want to ride some laps again?" She asked.

"Seriously, mate?" Nate asked as he took his bike off the track. "I've got to clean out my stall thanks to you."

How long could that take? Rikki wondered. She shrugged it off as she mounted her bike and rode around the track until sundown. She didn't see Nate or any of his friends for the rest of the day. They really were sore losers.

Rikki took her bike back to the stall. She took her track suit off and wasn't surprised to see her loose shirt and long pants were covered in sweat. It wasn't unusual for that to happen to her, especially after spending all day on the track.

Rikki stuffed her suit in her backpack and placed her helmet on her handlebars as she was ready to take off for the night. She'd surely be back here tomorrow.

"Where are you going?" She heard a voice from behind her. She turned around to see an older man who looked like an employee of the racetrack. He had on an old, plaid shirt with the name Henry stitched above his left pocket. She wondered what he meant. Could she not leave?

"What do you mean?" Rikki asked.

"I mean you won that stall." Henry said. "First girl I've ever seen do it. I'd use it before your luck runs out."

Rikki looked back at the stall she had just exited. It didn't look any different from before aside from the fact that her name was now written above it. It was a permanent stall? No wonder the boy named Nate had been so upset.

"I won it?" Rikki asked. "I don't have any money to pay-"

"We don't charge for those two stalls." Henry told her. "You get them by winning. Those two boys held them for a while, I'm sure he'll be back to challenge you for it again. We have high security here, leave whatever you'd like."

"Thanks." Rikki said as she took her bike and other belongings back to her stall. She thought these things would be safer here than at her new home. Her world would come crumbling down if someone ever stole or harmed her bike. She placed her phone, wallet and keys in her pocket and left everything else in the stall. As she stepped out of the stall, she wondered who had the other winning stall.

"Zane Bennett." She said aloud as she read his name off the center most stall.

"He's the current city champion." Henry told her. "Born and raised here in Gold Coast, his family is one of the richest in town. Between you and me, the kid's a bit of a jerk. I'm sure you can take him, but just be on the look out."

"Thanks." Rikki said to Henry.

"No problem," he said. "Feel free to come back here any time. I'd love to see more girls at my track."

Rikki nodded as she headed home. She could hear her parents bickering nearly a mile away. Rikki wanted to turn around and just live at the track. The man who worked there seemed nice and she could just ride her bike and be free. Plus, she had her own stall now. She felt like a prisoner in her own home.

Rikki decided to avoid the argument and found the back door of the home. She appeared in her kitchen but thankfully she noticed her room was just off of the kitchen. She curled up on the floor and pulled the small blanket and pillow over her head, hoping to drown out her parents' yells and screams.

Yes, life at the track would be much better than this.

AN: I hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter! I've been re-watching the show and I was just really frustrated with Rikki's role in the episode "The One That Got Away", particularly how she acted at the track. She's such a bad ass feminist, I love the idea of her being so active in a male dominated sport. I have also never raced in motocross so I've tried to research the terms and what not but I may still be wrong about things so please forgive me if you do have experience in this sport and I'm off on some stuff.

I think for a schedule, I'll be posting a new chapter every Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday so be on the look out! I'm super excited for this story and I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: The Invincible Zane Bennett

Zane Bennett woke up stretched across his king-sized bed. He inhaled the scent of the sheets knowing the maid had cleaned them yesterday. He was annoyed he had to spend all day yesterday helping his dad with a gala but he would be free all day today. He could meet up with his best mate, Nate, and ride their bikes on the motocross tracks.

Zane really didn't like either of his parents. His dad was distant and often treated Zane like a slave rather than a son. Anytime Zane did well on a school project or won a motocross tournament, his dad would barely blink an eye. He seemed to forget Zane existed unless he absolutely needed him. Maybe that was why Harrison had left his son in the South Pacific a few years ago. He had a great relationship with his mother. She was the one who bought him a bike for his seventh birthday so long ago, simply because she knew boys his age liked them. Zane hadn't cared much at first but then found that he liked riding his bike and he liked racing. He was a natural, finding his way to the top of the leaderboard at nearly every race. His mum had come and cheered him on at every competition. That was until his parents told him they were divorcing and that he would be living with his father. He had begged to go along with his mum but she seemed resistant to the idea. He hardly heard from her, aside from the cards and checks she'd send him for birthdays and Christmas. She had a new family of her own to worry about.

Zane shook the negative thoughts of his parents as he got ready for the day. He grabbed his helmet on the way out and rode his bike to the tracks. He'd surely find Nate there, Zane was usually the last one to arrive. He relished in the feeling of the ocean breeze in his hair and on his face. Life on his bike was an escape from the harsh, real world.

Zane took the right turn to enter the track when he saw Nate riding up with all his gear. Since when did Nate take all his gear home? He and Nate had the champion's stalls, that's where all of Zane's stuff was. What in the world was going on?

"Nate," Zane called for his friend. "What's the matter with you? Why do you have all your stuff?"

"I lost a race yesterday." Nate said.

"What?" Zane replied bringing his bike to a stop. He knew the terms, you could race for one of the champion's stalls and the winner would take ownership of the stall. Still, no one had beaten the two friends in a long time.

"Yeah, I don't want to talk about it." Nate said. "Let's just go."

"Who was it?" Zane asked, ignoring his friend.

"Some new bloke." Nate told. "His name is Rikki."

Rikki, Zane noted. There was some new guy in town trying to steal their long standing titles? Was this guy better than Zane? Surely not. Zane needed to find out though. Those stalls belonged to him and Nate.

"Come on, let's go look." Zane said. "If the guy isn't here, we can just use his stall."

"Yeah, all right." Nate said with a smile as he hopped back on his bike and rode into the track with Zane.

As they pulled up to the stalls, they did indeed find someone was in the outermost one. Zane could see him behind his bike, maybe checking the tire pressure.

"Wait here." Zane told Nate. "This won't take long."

Zane pulled his bike into his stall and hopped off. Maybe he could race the guy and get Nate's spot back. He knew that wasn't exactly how the stalls worked but what the old owner didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"Hey, mate." Zane said as he entered the stall. He was surprised to see a girl stand up from behind the bike. She was wearing a black tank top and black denim shorts. She was very pretty, he noted with her curly, blonde hair, blue eyes and ruby red lips. She moved from behind the bike to stand beside it.

"What is it?" The girl asked him.

"I um... well I guess I'm looking for your boyfriend, Rikki?" Zane told her. The girl laughed back at him as she grabbed a wrench from the tool box beside her.

"I am Rikki." She said. "And you are?"

"You're..." Zane started. "Wait, you're Rikki?"

"Yeah." She said. "Do you need to see my birth certificate or something?"

"I...no." Zane replied. Nate really lost to a girl? This had to be some mistake.

"You still haven't answered my question," Rikki said as she bent down to work on her engine. "Who are you?"

"I'm Zane." He said. "Zane Bennett."

"Oh, so you're my stall mate." Rikki said. Right, that's what he came into here to talk to her about.

"Right, well that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about." Zane started. "See this is my mate, Nate's stall. He paid for it."

"Really?" Rikki asked, taking her attention away from her bike. "That's not what the owner told me last night."

Zane sighed. "The owner is crazy."

"He also told me to watch out for you." Rikki said. Of course he did, Zane thought.

"Look, the rules are the rules." Rikki continued as she resumed work on her bike. "But I'll gladly race your friend Nate for his stall again."

Zane shook his head. This girl was ridiculous. Why couldn't she just give up what had always been there's? Why did she need this stall anyway? Everyone at the track knew he and Nate ruled the field. They constantly came in first and second in races, who did this girl think she was? Zane could tell Nate was upset from his loss, he doubted he'd want to race again. But Zane could race Rikki, he was itching to as a matter of fact.

"Why don't you race me instead?" Zane said, puffing out his chest.

"Race you?" Rikki asked in response. "What would I get in return? Two stalls?"

"That's not a bad idea." Zane said. "How about double or nothing? You win, you get both stalls. If I win I get both and I'll give this one back to Nate."

Rikki looked like she was thinking about the terms of the deal he had just proposed. Zane wouldn't know why she'd need two stalls but he supposed she wasn't just going to give Nate's stall up. Zane won nearly every race he competed in. He hadn't lost since he was eight years old. He could take this girl on, easy.

"Fine." Rikki finally responded. She stood from her bike and reached her hand out to shake his. "You're on. I'll meet you on the track in a few minutes."

"Fine." Zane replied as he walked back to his own stall, changing into his orange suit and making sure his bike was in prime racing condition. He rode it out to the track and added his name to the board. Rikki followed shortly after in a black suit, adding her name and meeting him at the starting line.

Zane had called an official over start the race. Zane didn't mind playing dirty, he'd go early. The official started the count down and he took off on 'two' like he always did, excepting to get a head start but Rikki also kicked off on 'two', hitting the first sharp turn and slinging dirt in his face. Suddenly, he was behind.

Zane was surprised to see Rikki's back for the entirety of the race. She didn't jump as high as he did, shortening her time even more. She came so close to the ground during sharp turns so many times, Zane thought she might fall off her bike. He had never seen someone ride with such precision before. He couldn't rely on any tricks up his sleeve, clean or dirty. He'd have to outsmart her.

They were coming to the final stretch of the ride and Zane knew he had to make a move. His bike was faster and newer than hers, he knew that. Maybe he could scrape his front tire with her back tire and throw her off her bike. It was the dirtiest move in the book but he couldn't think of anything else. He was desperate, he couldn't loose his stall. He speed up to her and saw Rikki look over her shoulder at him. He hit his front tire with hers but she turned her bike hard, pushing her back tire into his completely backfiring his plan. Zane flew off his bike, thankfully falling into a soft hill of dirt. He looked up just in time to see Rikki cross the finish line.

Rikki removed her helmet and Zane noticed all the boys that were watching the race stared in awe. The invincible Zane Bennett had been beaten by a girl. Rikki smiled at him and he walked his bike to the finish line. She should consider herself lucky she didn't harm his bike, she'd have to pay otherwise.

"Good race." Rikki told him. Zane scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I'll wait for you to move your stuff out."

"Don't think this is the end." Zane said.

"I wouldn't hope so." Rikki said. "If I had lost, I'd certainly challenge you back."

Zane rode his bike back to his stall, changed out of his suit and started clearing the place out. He didn't want to ride anymore, this Rikki girl had taken all the fun away from it. He peaked out every now and again, secretly hoping she would come to him and apologize for being selfish and at least let him have his stall back. Nate lost, he could win his stall back from her if he wanted to. Zane was sure either he or Nate were going to be challenging her every day they were at the track. Rikki better get ready, Zane thought. Or maybe it was the two boys that should prepare themselves.

"I can't believe it." One of the boys that frequented Henry's motocross race track said. "Zane really lost? And to a girl?"

Henry's eyes widened from behind the counter. Were the boys telling the truth? Had Zane Bennett finally been de-throned? The boy could use a good serving of humble pie. The boys that had come in for a water, exited and he saw them ride back towards the track on their bikes. As soon as they were out of sight, he heard his wife, Sandy, enter the back door.

"Those boys said Zane Bennett lost." Henry told his wife.

"Yes, I noticed." She said. "I was adding more water bottles to the pails when they had their race. He tried to get her at the end but she outsmarted him, simple as that."

"So it was a girl?" Henry asked.

"Yes." Sandy said. "The same girl from yesterday, Rikki. I think Zane might have been trying to get Nate's stall back."

"Well I'll be damned." Henry said as he leaned against the counter, trying to see if he could catch a glimpse of this girl who had become queen of his track in a matter of two days. He was surprised to see Zane exit what was once his stall to look out on the track.

"I think he likes her." Sandy said, knowing what her husband was staring at.

"Are you off your nutter?" Henry asked her. "Why in the world would he like her?"

"To be fair, I don't think he knows it yet." Sandy said.

"Yet you do?" Henry asked.

"Call it woman's intuition." Sandy shrugged.

Henry looked back out of the window and saw the girl coming to a stop at the finish line, taking her helmet off. Zane turned back around and went into his stall to continue cleaning it out.

"Does she like him?" Henry asked Sandy.

"No way." Sandy replied. "The girl has more sense than that."

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: Zane & Rikki's Vengeance

Zane and Nate challenged Rikki back for their stalls nearly every day. The two boys had begrudgingly lost every time. It annoyed Zane, especially, to no end. She wasn't even using his stall, why couldn't he just have it back? She also let the officials know if either of the boys took off before 'three' that was considered cheating at they'd forfeit the race. Zane couldn't remember anyone annoying him more.

He stopped going to the race tracks as often, instead opting to ride his bike around town or ride his Zodiac around the sea. Neither were as fun as the race track had been before Rikki had shown up. She wouldn't leave any time soon though.

That was unless he could make her leave. Zane had enough, he didn't care what he had to do. He'd play dirty if he had to. She wouldn't let him cheat in their races but who was she to say what he could do with his off time.

Zane was the first one at the track that morning, he doubted even Henry was there. As he expected, Rikki had left her bike in what was once Nate's stall. It was a simple model and easy to work around. Plus, she left all of her tools. What a silly girl. Zane left the track before the lights came on, feeling confident about his challenge today.

"Will it be the usual, boys?" Rikki asked as she noticed Zane and Nate standing in front of her stalls, ready to race. They didn't say anything in response.

"All right, just let me get ready and I'll meet you down there." Rikki told them. Zane and Nate took off for the tracks, Zane writing his name on the board first.

"Are you sure this will work, mate?" Nate asked.

"I'm positive." Zane said. "She won't notice until she gets out here."

Rikki came down the bumpy hills a moment later. Zane had noticed she never went down that way very fast, it made his plan absolutely perfect. Rikki wrote her name on the board and met him at the starting line.

The official called the race and Zane took off, knowing Rikki was going to be far behind him for the entirety of the race. He cackled as he sped through the track, taking his time around sharp turns and hills knowing he didn't need to get cocky and fall off his bike, giving her an easy win. Zane crossed the finish line first and was joined by Rikki over a minute later.

"What the hell did you do to my bike?!" Rikki exclaimed as she tossed her helmet off.

"Nothing." Zane said. "Maybe it's just time to replace that old clunker."

Rikki huffed at him as she rode up to the stalls. Zane called after her saying she still needed to race Nate. He watched as she pulled into the outermost stall and went into the shop.

"Oh, no." Zane muttered as he threw his helmet back on and sped up to the shop, jumping off his bike and running in as soon as he could.

"Hey, Henry what are you up to?" Zane asked the owner.

"Pulling some security tapes." Henry said. "Rikki thinks you tampered with her bike."

Zane scoffed. "Really, Henry? You think I would do something like that."

"I think you'd do a lot worse to get that stall back, boy." Henry told him.

Not a moment later did the security tapes show Zane going into Rikki's stall and start tampering with her bike. He sighed as he felt both Henry's and Rikki's eyes on him.

"Look, it doesn't show that I did anything to the bike." Zane said. "I could have been protecting it from something else."

"Likely story." Rikki scoffed.

"Zane, I know you want your stall back but you know the rules." Henry told him. "I'm putting you on probation. One more slip up and you'll be banned from the track for a month."

"What?!" Zane exclaimed. He looked at Rikki and saw a smile form on her face. "How is that fair?"

"You tampered with someone else's bike, you're lucky I don't call the cops!" Henry yelled at him. "I don't want to hear another word or your ban starts now. Rikki gets your stall since you cheated."

Zane sighed as he walked out of the shop and slammed the door behind him and then gathered Nate to leave. They'd spend the day doing anything else. For the first time, Zane wondered if he would continue with motocross.

Rikki didn't feel like staying at the tracks much longer either. She packed up and then thought of where she could go. She hadn't seen much of the town, aside from the track and her home. They did live by a beach, maybe she could go on a walk or swim. She couldn't remember the last time she saw the ocean.

Rikki found a beach quickly and walked along the shore observing the others who decided to spend their day there. There were families with young kids, surfers around her age, loved up couples she wished would get a room and many, many more. People were so interesting.

She nearly tripped over a boy who was bent over, inspecting some seaweed. He looked up at her as she let out a cry of surprise.

"Can I help you?" He asked. How rude. She swore she knew him from somewhere though, didn't he go to her school?

"Sorry, I didn't see you there." Rikki said. "Don't you go to my school? You're the science-y kid."

The guy looked annoyed. It was the truth, Rikki wouldn't apologize for that.

"I have a name, you know." He told her.

"Me too." She said, reaching a hand out to him. "I'm Rikki."

"Lewis." He replied, shaking it. At least not all the boys in this town were as sore as Zane.

Speak of the devil, Rikki saw a red boat in the distance that looked like it housed both Zane and Nate. She couldn't be too sure, they were miles away.

"Hey, is that Zane Bennett out there?" Rikki asked Lewis.

"So that's your type?" Lewis asked.

"Not in a million years." Rikki responded as if Lewis had asked her to eat the seaweed in his hand. "I just... he wronged me."

"That's not surprising." Lewis responded, looking out to sea. "Yeah, that does look like his Zodiac."

A sudden thought burst into Rikki's head. Zane was clearly no angel but he'd be in for a surprise if he thought she was one. She wasn't an instigator but she wouldn't back down from a fight if she was provoked.

"Do you know where he parks it?" Rikki asked.

"Why do you ask?" Lewis asked her. "Not wanting to do anything bad, are you?"

"So what if I am?" Rikki responded.

Lewis chuckled at her. "I think it's the north lot in town. That's where all the other rich people in town park their boats."

"Great, thanks." Rikki replied as she made her way to the north docks.

Rikki had hoped there would be no fence or security she would have to get through but today seemed to be her lucky day. Any average person could walk into this dock filled with large boats and small yachts. Rikki wondered where Zane would park his Zodiac. Again, she didn't have to wonder for too long as she saw Zane and Nate walking along the docks. Rikki hid behind a yacht so they wouldn't see her standing in the open. She wondered where they were going and how long they would be gone. She wondered if she had enough time to tamper with his Zodiac. She wondered if she even knew how to tamper with his Zodiac.

Rikki took off in the direction Zane and Nate had come from and quickly found the obnoxious, red boat tied up between two yachts. There was still a case inside the boat so she reckoned they either forgot it or she didn't have much time to work. Rikki hopped in the boat, taking the cover off of the engine. She didn't know too much about this engine, it was different from a bike. Still, she noticed a spark plug near the top. Surely the boat wouldn't run without it. She quickly pulled it out, placed the cover back on the engine and ran off, only barely getting time to hide behind the nearby yacht before both boys showed back up.

She giggled as quietly as she could as Zane quickly become frustrated his boat wouldn't start. Nate was the one to point to the missing spark plug. Rikki was biting her hand to keep from cackling. This was all so hilarious. No, she certainly wasn't an angel.

"I'm getting tired of this thing anyway," Zane started. "I'll just have my dad buy me a new one."

Rikki furrowed her eyebrows. That wasn't the response she wanted.

"Or we could have some fun." Nate said. "Look."

Rikki looked around to see if she could see what Nate was pointing at without exposing herself. She saw the girl that had given her directions to the track walking around the pier. Rikki wondered what she was doing here.

"Cleo." She heard Zane yell. "Hey, Cleo!"

God help the girl, she looked around for someone else. What a pure, innocent soul. Rikki wondered what evil plan Zane was cooking up.

Once he got her over to the boat, he told her the boat wasn't starting and he needed her to pass him some tools. Zane had to have known the boat wouldn't start without a spark plug. He also had to know you didn't need tools, it just popped in.

Rikki needed to see what was going on. She quietly entered the yacht she was hiding behind, hoping the yacht was empty and that she wouldn't draw any attention to herself. She got lucky as she saw Zane untie the ropes and push his boat out to sea with the girl named Cleo still inside. She protested and he told her his dad would just buy him a new one. She huffed and sat down in the boat. Nate had joined Zane and the two walked away from the drifting boat, laughing. Rikki would have to make her move. It would be more embarrassing than anything if she landed in the water. Plus, the spark plug probably wouldn't work anymore. Zane had tampered with her bike but it was fixable, she couldn't destroy his stuff.

Rikki flew off the yacht and thankfully landed in the boat. Cleo let out a loud scream. Rikki was surprised Zane and Nate didn't hear her.

"Is this supposed to be some kind of rescue?" Cleo asked. "I don't mean to state the obvious but we're just drifting out to sea."

Rikki held the spark plug up for Cleo to see. The girl's chocolate, brown eyes widened.

"You took that?" Cleo asked. Rikki smirked at her as she watched Zane and Nate walk down the docks.

"Zane Bennett's a pig." Rikki said. "Anything I can do to get under his skin can't be a bad thing, can it?"

"Cool, thanks Rikki." Cleo said as Rikki inserted the speak plug back to the Zodiac.

"You know my name?" Rikki asked the girl. She wanted to laugh as Cleo started sputtering, trying to come up with excuse after excuse as to why she hadn't spoken to Rikki yet. Frankly, Rikki couldn't care less. She smiled as the engine easily turned over. She saw Zane was still nearby and thought of a perfect parting gift.

"Hold on." Rikki told Cleo as she made a beeline for the docks. She watched with great satisfaction as Zane's face turned bright red. She gave him a shrug as she made a sharp turn, splashing water all over him. He'd be pissed the next time she saw him at the tracks.

Rikki and Cleo rode the Zodiac around the shore for quite a while. Rikki had fun with the girl, maybe she could be friends with her. Rikki was usually so preoccupied with motocross she didn't have a lot of friends. Maybe Cleo would be okay with that.

Cleo spotted her friend, Emma, the other girl Rikki had seen on her first day in town, the one who had told her to put her helmet on. Cleo invited Emma on the boat as they drove by.

"Are you licensed?" Emma had asked Rikki.

"Are you my mother?" Rikki responded, pulling in to the nearest shore to let Emma on the boat.

"How about we take this thing out to sea?" Rikki asked the two girls. They seemed hesitant but they weren't driving. Rikki smiled as the water got darker and the winds became faster. She smiled, thinking how she had gotten the best revenge on Zane today. Oh, how wrong she would turn out to be.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: Rikki Chadwick and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

To say Rikki had quite the night would be an understatement. She and the girls who stole Zane's Zodiac had run out of petrol in the middle of the ocean. They paddled to a nearby island called Mako where Cleo fell down a mysterious cave. The other two girls followed her, swimming out of an even more mysterious pool inside the dormant volcano. Rikki had noticed a full moon above them and felt a strange, magical feeling. She ignored it and helped the girls swim out to sea. They were immediately stopped by the water police. Thankfully, Rikki had been able to sneak back into her house without being caught by her parents. She didn't think she would be let off the hook when she went to the track later on though. Zane would lay into her.

Rikki sighed as she got dressed that morning. She figured she should get Zane's outrage out of the way. She supposed he had every right to be mad at her. Yes, he had messed with her bike but he didn't manage to get her bike impounded like she did his Zodiac. If he was as rich and spoiled as he lead on, she was sure he'd be able to get it out in no time but it was still an inconvenience. Maybe Rikki should apologize to him. Maybe she did take it too far.

She had been walking in a secluded area when the sprinklers had turned on, spraying her with water. Rikki reckoned this was the payback she would get for her deeds yesterday. She'd have to apologize. She had just stepped out of the water's way when she felt odd. Her whole body seized up and she lost her sight for a moment. When it had returned, she found she couldn't stand and fell forward onto the ground. What the hell had happened? Why couldn't she use her legs?

Rikki felt her hair on her back. That was strange, she had put it up in a bun today. She looked at her chest and saw her top and collared shirt was now replaced with an orange, scaly bra. Rikki turned around to look at her legs and saw they had been replaced with a fish tail with orange scales to match her bandeau top.

What the hell?

Rikki did her best to move away from the sprinklers in her new form. She sat under a tree as she did her best to dry herself off with only her hands. She didn't know if drying off would work but she thought she only grew a tail because she got wet. She felt the same odd feeling as she transformed back into her human form.

What the actual hell?

Suddenly, Rikki didn't think she could go to the race track anymore, not now at least. She needed to figure out what had happened to her. Was this some curse for taking Zane's Zodiac? Could she reverse it? Was it temporary? If it was, how long would it last?

Rikki recounted the events from yesterday. It had to have happened after she stole the Zodiac, she probably got wet on their joy ride. That pool inside the volcano had been odd, especially when the full moon came over the opening. The pool had started bubbling and water was rising upwards as Rikki and the other two girls sat in it.

Wait, did this affect the other two? Cleo and Emma? Rikki needed to find out. Maybe they had answers. She just didn't know where to find them.

As luck would have it, Rikki saw the boy she knew to be named Lewis walking towards her. She had seen him with Cleo a few times at school, maybe he would know where she was.

"Lewis!" Rikki called as she ran up to him.

"Hey, Rikki, right?" Lewis asked.

"Yeah," Rikki said. "Hey, you hang out with Cleo sometimes right?"

"I-yeah sometimes." Lewis said as he turned bright red. "Why? What's up?"

"You wouldn't happen to know where she is, would you?" Rikki asked.

"I think I saw her going into the JuiceNet cafe a little while ago." Lewis said.

"Perfect. Thanks, Lewis." Rikki said. "I owe you."

Rikki ran off to the JuiceNet cafe. She had never been but she knew it was a popular hangout for a lot of the locals her age. As she pushed back the beaded curtains, she saw both Cleo and Emma at the bar, looking like they had a secret. Unfortunately, she also heard a chair pushed back with so much force it demanded her attention.

"My father's pissed, you know." Zane told Rikki as he approached her.

"I'm sure." Rikki replied. "Look, I'm sorry I took it too far but-"

"Sorry?" Zane asked as she moved past him, trying to get to the two girls at the bar. She and Zane seemed to have the attention of the cafe. "Sorry isn't going to cut it."

"Fine, fair enough." Rikki said. "I have something I really need to attend to so-"

"So do I." Zane replied.

"Zane, please-"

"Just who do you think you are anyway?" Zane asked her. "You think you can just waltz into this town like you're the greatest motocross racer that has ever existed? I knew you were bad news."

"Look," Rikki started as she approached him, trying to simultaneously defuse the situation and take the attention off of them. She guessed that was the last thing Zane wanted. "I promise we can talk about this later but I really need to take care of something."

"No, we're talking about this now." Zane said, grabbing her wrist. "I want my stall back."

Suddenly, the large drink Zane had previously been drinking exploded, landing all over him. Rikki had pulled away just in time to avoid being splashed. Zane, on the other hand, had been covered in his juice. Someone might as well have dumped the drink on his head.

"This isn't over." Zane warned Rikki as he left the cafe. Rikki shook her head, glad to get that over with before turning around to the two girls she had meant to speak to. Emma looked surprised at what had happened, just like everyone else in the cafe. Cleo's eyes were wide with surprise but it looked like a different kind of surprised than everyone else.

"We need to talk." Rikki said as she approached the two girls.

As luck would have it, Cleo and Emma had transformed into mermaids too. How the hell had this happened? Mermaids were just myths. Cleo even admitted she thought she somehow made Zane's drink explode over him. She said she was upset at him for attacking Rikki. Rikki made a point to thank her, she didn't have to do that.

The girls did agree on one thing, they needed to keep this a secret. What would someone do if they happened to find out? Sell them off to a marine biologist or make them an attraction at Sea World? Maybe see if they could fight sharks or talk to squid. No, this had to be a secret between the three of them.

Rikki needed to go home and take a nap. The girls had spent hours talking and her brain hurt. She never thought she would spend so long talking about mermaids. She wasn't surprised when she heard her parents' voices screaming at each other but she was surprised when she saw her mother leaving with a duffle bag on her shoulder.

"Shelia, please!" She heard her dad beg. "Just let me explain!"

"There's nothing to explain." Shelia spat back. "There's nothing you could say to make me stay."

"Mum," Rikki said as she approached her mother who was now standing at the base of the porch. "What's going on?"

"Your father got fired from another job, that's what's going on." Shelia said. "I've had enough of this, we're leaving. Come on, Rikki."

"Wait, don't I get a say in this?" Rikki asked her mother. She hoped she could convince her to stay.

"You want to live with your dead beat dad, Rikki?" Shelia asked.

"How dare you-" Terry roared.

"Dad." Rikki stopped him from going any further. "He's not a dead beat."

"Just keep telling yourself that, Rikki." Shelia said. "Sooner or later you'll come to realize what I know now."

"Mum, please." Rikki pleaded. She felt tears threaten to fall and she briefly wondered if she'd turn into a mermaid. "We need you, please don't go."

"You can come with me, Rikki." Shelia said. "I'm going to stay with my parents until I can get on my feet."

"You're making me choose?" Rikki asked.

"I'm giving you a choice." Shelia said. "You can come have a real life with me or you can rot in this trailer."

"Life isn't all about money, you know." Rikki said.

"You're so young and naïve, Rikki." Shelia told her daughter. "Of course it is, I don't know why I married your dad in the first place."

"Don't say that." Rikki shouted back. "Don't you dare... how-how would I have ever been born if you two didn't get married?"

"Rikki," Shelia said as she wiped the tears falling down her daughter's eyes. "This was never the life I wanted for you. I never would have had you if this is how I thought you'd turn out."

Rikki pulled away from her mother sharply after that. How dare she say that to Rikki? Rikki could tell her dad was fuming behind her. It was taking everything in him not to explode on Shelia.

"If you think I'm coming with you after that, you're wrong." Rikki said.

"Rikki-" Shelia pleaded, maybe realizing her mistake.

"No!" Rikki shouted back. "No, if you didn't want me, I'll do you a favor. You don't get to have me. I'm staying here."

Rikki wouldn't have left with her mum anyway. Not if she offered Rikki a brand new bike and a cure to her mermaid tail. She had a bond with her dad that was unlike anything she had with her mum. She needed to stay in town with Cleo and Emma too. They needed to navigate this mermaid journey together.

"All right." Shelia sighed. "I'll call."

"Please don't." Rikki said as she failed miserably to hold back her falling tears.

Shelia nodding as she walked away from her husband and daughter. A part of Rikki hoped she'd never see her again and another part hoped she'd turn around and beg to come back to them until Rikki and Terry finally let up and said yes. Shelia turned behind a trailer and Rikki seemed to know she'd never see her again. She couldn't hold back a sob.

"Rikki-" Terry started as he took the few steps down the porch.

"I'm going to the track." Rikki said without hesitation and turned toward the track. Maybe that wasn't the best place to go but that's where she always went when she was upset. She didn't know what else to do.

Zane rode his bike at the track alone today. Nate had been busy with a martial arts class and Zane was still pissed at Rikki for stealing his Zodiac and getting it impounded. His dad had quickly bailed it out for him but the fine was coming out of Zane's allowance. Between Rikki's beat up suit and five year old bike, Zane suspected she didn't have the money to pay him back. The least she could do would be to give him his stall back.

It was getting dark outside and he knew the track would be closing soon. He finished one last lap and was ready to head home. As he walked by the stalls, he noticed someone was in Rikki's stall near her bike. Or multiple someone's. He had never seen Rikki with many people before so he felt like something was off. He supposed he should leave it alone, it would serve her right for what she did to him. Still, as inconvenient as it was to get his boat back, he knew it would be a different story if someone destroyed Rikki's bike. She couldn't simply buy a new one.

"Hey," Zane said as he entered the stall. He saw a few boys holding tools near her bike's engine. They couldn't have been any older than eleven. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Come on, mate she's a girl." The boy who must have been the ringleader told him. "She doesn't need to come to this track."

"Really?" Zane asked. "Is that a rule or something?"

"No," another boy said. "But girls are gross. We don't need her here."

"Well, I know it is against the rules to tamper with someone's bike so why don't you guys get out of here before I tell the owner what you're up to?" Zane threatened the boys.

"Why would you help her?" The ringleader asked. "We see you with her, you hate her."

Fair point, Zane thought. Why was he helping Rikki? He didn't owe her anything, if anything she owed him. Still, some gut feeling inside of him told him this was the right thing to do.

"Just get out of here before I tell Henry." Zane warned them. The boys dropped their tools and left the stall before he could say another word.

Zane parked his bike to take a look at the damage they had done to Rikki's. It looked like the boys did know their way around an engine but it wasn't anything he couldn't fix. Again, Zane wondered why he was helping her. She owed him big time.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He heard as soon as he was done fixing Rikki's bike. He looked up to see Rikki was standing just in front of his own bike, her eyes were red and puffy and she had tear stains down her cheeks.

"Rikki," Zane started, suddenly feeing a need to help her. "What's wrong?"

"Why the hell would you care?" Rikki asked. He could tell she was pissed. Why? "What are you doing to my bike?"

Zane suddenly realized why she was so upset. "Rikki, it's not what you think-"

"Then what is it?" Rikki asked.

"There was a group of boys that were trying to destroy your bike." Zane started. "I was just trying to fix the damage-"

"Oh, likely story." Rikki said. "I'm really not in the mood to deal with your bullshit, Zane. You can have the other stall if you want, I don't give a flying fuck anymore but please quit tampering with my bike."

"I'm not, I swear!" Zane yelled back.

"What's going on out here?" Henry said as he exited the shop. "Rikki, are you all right?"

"Zane's messing with my bike again." Rikki said, ignoring his question. This was so embarrassing. She cursed her mother even further into oblivion for making her deal with this.

"Zane, I told you if you got caught-" Henry started.

"But I wasn't!" Zane pleaded. He couldn't be thrown out of the track. "Check the tapes! You'll see!"

Rikki scoffed and rolled her eyes. Henry looked between the two teenagers and finally complied.

"All right." Henry said. "Get in here, both of you."

Henry lead the pair inside of the shop, turning on one of the one television screens and pulling up the tape in Rikki's stall. It was empty until about an hour ago when three young boys entered the stall and started grabbing at Rikki's tools and tearing apart her engine. Zane came up right to the stall shortly after. The tapes didn't have sound but Rikki could tell he was pissed at the boys. They eventually ran off and they saw Zane sit down and start to fix the bike before Rikki came into the picture.

"Well, maybe you were telling the truth for the first time." Henry said. "Don't think this lifts your probation. Rikki, I don't know what you're doing out here but I'm going to have to close up shop."

"No, please." Rikki pleaded not for the first time today. "Just a few laps, I need to clear my head."

"I'm sorry." Henry said. "The grandkids are in town and I'm already late for dinner. The wife is going to kill me if I stay any longer."

"What if I stay?" Zane asked.

"You?" Henry asked the troublemaker. "Why would I trust you with my track."

"You'd trust her." Zane said motioning to Rikki. "I'll keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't get hurt."

Rikki really didn't want to be left alone with Zane. She didn't know what he'd do to her if she was alone with him. Was now the time to get revenge for impounding his boat? Still, she knew Henry couldn't leave her alone in his right mind and she could hop on her bike and run away from Zane if she needed to.

Henry was looking between the pair again, trying to decide if this was a good idea or not. Rikki looked like she had a hell of a night and he knew how freeing and relieving it could be to ride a bike around the track. He took a sigh, he really was getting old and soft.

"Fine. You're right though, I don't trust you." Henry said, looking at Zane and handing the keys to Rikki. "I don't want you two getting hurt. I'll ban you both if that happens, understood?"

They both gave him a nod as he moved from around the corner to grab his jacket and car keys. As Henry walked to his car he thought maybe Sandy was right. Maybe Zane Bennett finally cared for something other than himself, his bike and his other various toys.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5: Zane's Victory

Rikki and Zane stayed rooted in the shop once Henry had left. Neither of them knew what to say. Rikki wondered why Zane was staying behind with her. Zane wondered that himself. Rikki wondered what his intentions were, if she would have to start running now.

"I won't stay if you don't want me to." Zane finally told her.

"What?" Rikki asked.

"I know Henry would like for me to stay to make sure you're all right," Zane started. "But I won't if you don't want me to. I get it."

"No, it's all right." Rikki said. "Well, unless you don't want to..."

Zane laughed. "We'll never make a decision this way. Tell you what, I'll go wait for you by the tracks and you come tell me what you want me to do then."

"Why are you helping me?" Rikki asked. She didn't understand why Zane was doing this. If their roles were reversed, she'd leave in an instant.

"You look like you've had a hell of a day." Zane shrugged. "I don't want to make it worse."

"Yeah," Rikki laughed and sniffed her stuffy nose at the same time. "Well, thanks. Speaking of that, I'm going to go get washed up."

"Yeah, all right." Zane said as he made his way to the door and she walked into the bathroom.

In retrospect, Rikki was glad she went to the bathroom. If they had been outside, she probably would have hosed her face down with a bottle of water or the tap outside of her stall. She had splashed her face with water from the bathroom sink and had just enough time to check her reflection in the mirror when she collapsed on the ground, forgetting about her new mermaid tail.

"Rikki?" She heard Zane ask. He hadn't left yet? Or had he and she just made so much noise he came in to check on her? "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Rikki said before she saw the doorknob jiggling. "Don't come in!"

"All right." Zane said, confused. "I'll meet you by the track."

Rikki huffed as she dried herself off with the air dryer. She hoped she had splashed enough water on her face to clear her puffy eyes and tear stains because she couldn't splash herself again. She was sure Zane would walk in on her at that moment.

Once Rikki had dried off, she went to her stall to change into her suit and get her bike. As she exited, she took a look at her empty second stall. She had no use for that stall. She had thought maybe when her dad started making more money, she'd be able to get more equipment and store it in that stall. He was unemployed now so that seemed unlikely at least in the near future. She had no use for it, aside from annoying Zane. He had done something nice for her tonight, maybe she could do something nice for him.

"Where's your bike?" She asked him once she reached him near the bottom of the track.

"Still up top." He told her motioning to where he left it before they had entered the shop to check the security footage with Henry. She wondered how she had missed that.

"You're not going to ride?" She asked.

"You want me to?" Zane asked back.

"Well, I thought it was nice of you to stay out here with me." Rikki told him. "I thought I might give you a chance to win your stall back."

Zane scoffed at her. "Really?"

"I'm not kidding." Rikki said. "I don't have any use for it anymore."

"You had a use for it?" Zane asked. Rikki felt like she said too much.

"Well, annoying the hell out of you." She was pleased when she earned a smile from him. "I don't really care to do that at the moment. You should take advantage of this opportunity while I'm feeling nice."

"All right," Zane said as he went to get his bike. "But don't go easy on me, I want to win fair and square."

"I wouldn't dream of it!" Rikki shouted back.

They had raced four laps, all of which Rikki had won before Zane removed his helmet and grabbed one of the bottles of water he brought down.

"How do you do it?" Zane asked. "I haven't lost this many races... well, ever."

"I can show you some tricks if you want." Rikki told him.

Zane raised his eyebrows before he nodded at her. Five, six laps she had won before she told him to tighten his abs when he was making turns, that way he could stay upright on his bike and take the inside track. Seven, eight laps, she told him to slow down just before a jump so he wouldn't catch as much air. Nine, ten laps, she told him to use his brain. It seemed like the worst trick she had told him so far.

On the eleventh lap, Zane was trailing Rikki on the final stretch yet again. He remembered trying to toss her off her bike during their first race. Maybe he could try that again, but quicker, less forceful. If he could just catch her tire enough to make her loose her balance a bit, he could zoom past her. He sped up and did as he thought. Rikki lost her balance, slowing down just a bit and Zane sped ahead of her, finally, finally winning a race. He screamed out in excitement, having accomplished the feat he had been trying to do for months.

"Great race!" Rikki told him once she herself had crossed the finish line and taken off her helmet.

"Thanks." Zane said. "Gosh, I haven't felt that great after a race in...in forever!"

"Probably because it took forever to get the result you wanted." Rikki told him.

"Well, all thanks to you." Zane said.

Rikki smiled and looked at the ground and back up before responding. "I don't know about that. Hey, let's go put your name back on the stall."

"All right." Zane said as they hopped back on their bikes and rode them up to the top of the hill. They went into the shop and found a step stool and a screwdriver, simply deciding to remove Rikki's plaque and use Zane's old one beneath it.

"Home, sweet, home." Zane said as he stepped off the latter to admire his name back on the stall.

"Don't get too cocky now," Rikki warned him. "I could kick your ass if I wanted to."

Zane laughed at her. "Do you want to have a drink before we head out?"

"Sure." Rikki replied. "That sounds great."

Zane brought out two lemon flavored sports drinks from a fridge inside the shop. He knew he was supposed to pay for them but Henry wouldn't miss anything. If he was really that pressed, Zane would give him four dollars the next time they were at the track.

Zane joined Rikki on one of the large bumps heading down to the track. He handed her a drink and they both took a few sips before either said anything.

"Thanks for tonight," Rikki told him. "I had fun."

"Yeah, me too." Zane replied.

"You know, you're really good at motocross." Rikki told him.

"Not as good as you." He countered.

"Me?" Rikki laughed. "I guess I'm all right but I have to work really hard. You're a natural."

"Maybe." Zane said. "But I guess if I've learned anything from you it's that being a natural is the worst when you come across someone who works five times as hard as you. It's impossible to counter it."

"Maybe." Rikki sighed. "I've just never had a choice, you know. It's either work hard or come in fifth place or something like that. It's not fun when you lose all the time. Especially when you're a girl."

"When did you get into motocross?" Zane asked.

"When I was seven." Rikki told him. "My dad's a... well, he used to work on this old Harley in his free time and, I'm not sure why, but I really loved helping him, passing him tools and that sort of stuff. I asked for a bike of my own for forever and he finally gave me one for my seventh birthday. I started racing shortly after. It was fun, but I realized pretty quickly I was going to need to work hard to do well, so I did.

"What about you?" Rikki asked after she took another sip of her drink. "When did you start?"

"I was seven, too." Zane told her. "You know my family's rich but I'm not sure they know me, you know?"

Rikki wanted to tell him that wasn't just rich families but she let him continue.

"My mum also got me a bike for my birthday." Zane continued. "I never asked for it, I think she just thought most boys my age wanted one. I guess it turned out to be a good gift. Like you said, I was a natural. Until you came along, I hadn't lost a race since I was eight. I don't know, recently I've been thinking I like the idea of winning more than motocross itself."

"You weren't thinking of quitting, were you?" Rikki asked.

"I don't know, maybe." Zane said.

"Zane... I'm sorry." Rikki said. "I never wanted to make you quit I just-"

"No, Rikki, it's okay." Zane told her. "Really, it's not a big deal. I don't want to quit anymore."

"Since when?" Rikki asked.

"Since about...twenty minutes ago." Zane told her.

"Since you won your stall back?" Rikki asked. "I told you not to get cocky, I'll take it back in a heartbeat."

"No, that's not it." Zane laughed. "Not completely anyway. I guess I just... never had that much fun training before."

"I'm glad." Rikki finally told him.

Zane smiled at her with a silly, crooked grin. It made her heart skip a beat and she couldn't help from smiling back. Since when had he been so... handsome? They were both covered in sweat, his bangs were plastered to his forehead but he still looked as good looking as any guy she'd ever seen.

Rikki cleared her throat and stood from the ground before her thoughts could take her any further.

"We should probably head home." Rikki told him. "It's getting late."

"Yeah, you're right." Zane said standing up and walking back to the stalls with her, discarding their empty bottles. They were silent until they reached the top of the hill.

"Hey, Rikki?" Zane asked before they went their separate ways.

"What is it?" She responded.

"You know the city tournament is coming up in a few months." Zane started. "Would you like to train together until then?"

"Yeah," Rikki said. "Yeah, I'd like that."

Zane smiled at her before turning around and walking in the opposite direction of her trailer. If Rikki didn't know any better, she'd stay there was a certain swagger in his walk that hadn't been there before. She shook her head and walked back to her trailer, knowing her dad was probably worried sick about her. She didn't think about that as much as she did the raven haired boy she had just spent the evening with. The boy who had taken her horrible, terrible no good, very bad day and planted at the very least, a very good memory at the end.

Rikki shook her head so many times on her walk back to her trailer, if anyone saw her they probably would have thought she was going crazy. She couldn't feel this way, all boys in motocross were dicks. No way she was falling for one of them.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6: The Immature Chronicles of Rikki and Zane

As the school year continued, Rikki adjusted to her schedule as she always did. She would spend the afternoons with Cleo and Emma discussing their mermaid lives and most evenings training with Zane, if not at the race track. Zane was right, the city tournament was coming up soon and they needed to get ready. He seemed to have a busier life than her so Rikki wasn't surprised when he'd occasionally not show up to the track.

Rikki had been sitting alone as she liked at the JuiceNet when Lewis had approached her to talk about Cleo. How was Rikki supposed to know what was going through Cleo's mind? It didn't matter if she did anyway, she couldn't tell Lewis Cleo wasn't going to Miriam's stupid party because she was a fish. Regardless, Rikki had wanted to be left alone and Lewis was continuing to ignore her. She was starting to get mad when the cola he had just ordered started bubbling. Rikki looked between the liquid and her own hand wondering if she had finally found her power. Cleo could manipulate water and Emma could freeze it, she supposed her being able to heat it up only made sense. She went to the beach later on to test it again. She found a small puddle of water and watched it evaporate completely at the squeeze of her hand.

Rikki had called Emma to show her her new power when they ran into Lewis who told them Cleo was going to Miriam's pool party. They somehow convinced Lewis to go to the party to check on Cleo while Emma and Rikki dried off and ran to Miriam's as fast as they could.

"Wait," Emma had stopped Rikki once they reached Miriam's house.

"What is it?" Rikki asked.

"What if nothing is happening?" Emma asked. "What if she's managing it?"

"What, are we just supposed to wait around until something does happen?" Rikki asked.

"Rikki," Emma said, grabbing Rikki's wrist to keep her from moving any further. "You know Cleo's having a hard time with this whole... mermaid thing. If nothing's going wrong, there shouldn't be a reason to pull her away, right?"

Rikki glanced between Emma and her hand that covered her wrist, thinking about what Emma had to say.

"Think about motocross." Emma said. "You wouldn't want me to pull you away from a race just because they had bottles of water, right? These parties and events are Cleo's motocross."

"Fine." Rikki sighed, knowing Emma had a point. "We'll just keep an eye out, I suppose."

The two girls hid behind a iron rod gate, hoping they weren't too suspicious. The first person Rikki noticed at the party wasn't Cleo but rather Zane. She reckoned she shouldn't be shocked, this did seem like his scene. He was leaning against a pillar talking to Nate when Cleo walked in wearing a large coat and a scarf. Rikki wanted to laugh. What the hell was she thinking?

Rikki was surprised when Zane and his friends started ganging up on Cleo. Rikki hoped she wasn't seen as a bully but she supposed Cleo was an easy target. She was innocent, naïve and had no backbone. Rikki wondered where Lewis was, why he wasn't stopping this? Zane had Cleo by her shoulders and Nate had her by her feet, swinging her back and forth like a hammock.

Rikki and Emma were about to enter the party, taking whatever force necessary to stop Zane and Nate from throwing Cleo in the pool until they finally heard Lewis. The genius boy had told Zane and Nate to let her go, so they did. Right into the pool. Luckily for Cleo, they went inside before her transformation could take place.

Rikki felt her blood boiling from the pool party all the way to the race track that night. The girls and Lewis, who was now in on the mermaid secret, had asked her if she was all right multiple times and she had shrugged them off. She would be fine but she didn't want to hang around someone as immature as Zane anymore.

Rikki went to the race track that evening and rode a few laps before she saw Zane arrive at his stall. She rolled her eyes and hoped he'd simply leave her alone. He came down to the same track she was on, probably thinking she'd stop at the finish line. She only revved her engine more and flew past him. She supposed she couldn't do this forever, she'd run out of petrol soon. She finally stopped off the track and was about to grab a water from a nearby pail when she realized what a mistake that would be and he approached her.

"Hey, what's up?" Zane asked her. She was pleased to see he was out of breath.

"Just getting some water before I get a few more laps in." Rikki told him.

"Okay, don't you want to train together?" Zane asked.

"Not really, no." Rikki replied as she moved past him to get on her bike.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Zane asked. "I thought you were going to train me for the city tournament?"

"Hold on," Rikki started. "Me, train you? As in, I'm not competing myself?"

"Well, yeah." Zane simply said as if she had asked if two plus two equaled four.

Rikki scoffed. "You didn't think I'd want to enter the tournament?"

"I don't know." Zane said. "I just thought you're new in town and you haven't taken Nate up on a challenge in a while and you're a..."

Zane was getting heated, she could tell. She knew what he was going to say next, too. She didn't know he would sink that low.

"I'm a what?" Rikki asked. Zane sighed and shook his head. He was about to open his mouth but she cut him off. "No, go ahead and say it. It's because I'm a girl, right? You of all people should know that doesn't matter."

"It doesn't." Zane told her. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"Forget it." Rikki said. "I wouldn't want to train with you anyway, not after the way you treated my friend."

"What are you talking about?" Zane asked.

"Cleo told me you threw her in Miriam's pool today." Rikki shoot back.

"It was just a prank!" Zane tried to defend. "She was fine, she was wearing a big coat and a scarf, it was just perfect timing."

"Whatever." Rikki shook her head and walked past Zane. "I don't have time to hang around with someone as immature as you."

"Immature?" Zane shouted after her, following her down to her bike. "You think I'm immature? Have you taken a look in the mirror lately?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rikki asked as she mounted her bike. She was going to take off and just forget about him until he made his accusation.

"How immature is it to just hurl accusations at someone and simply run off?" Zane asked. "And-and just the insults you give people at school, I've seen it. You couldn't go to Miriam's party because you were flossing your teeth? How hard is a simple 'no'? Don't go acting like you're any better than me."

Rikki hadn't considered that. She had seen other people do things like that at her old schools. Then again, those people throwing out insults like candy were the popular crowd she swore she wanted nothing to do with and the people receiving them were geeks and nerds who had puckered up the courage to ask a question. She reckoned those jerk preps deserved a taste of their own medicine. She never thought it made her as bad as them.

"Well, then..." Rikki started, looking anywhere but Zane. "I guess we have different prerogatives."

Zane scoffed at her. He looked like he wanted to go on a huge rant but he settled for "Yeah, I guess so. See you later."

Zane tossed her another water he picked up for her. Rikki supposed that was nice but dropped the bottle as soon as she felt the heavy condensation sink through her gloves and she ran as fast as she could inside the shop. She had just closed the bathroom door when the transformation happened.

The bathroom was small so she was slumped against the wall. Rikki wondered if she'd ever break her arm or dislocate her shoulder coming in here to avoid growing a tail in front of everyone. Thankfully, she had an incredibly useful power when it came to drying off. She could be out on the track again in no time.

Rikki thought about her eventful day. It hadn't at all gone like she had planned. She had hoped for a relaxing day, maybe she'd go for a swim and end the day on the track with Zane. That had all gone out the window as soon as Lewis sat down with her at the JuiceNet. The girls and Lewis knew that Cleo wouldn't be able to go to anymore pool parties, not as long as they were mermaids. Emma had told them she had quit the swim team as well. It was a damn shame both girls had to give up on things they had enjoyed only because they could now grow a tail. Rikki had counted herself lucky for once. The only thing she was passionate about was motocross and she didn't think there were as many water hazards there as there were in a pool. Still, she had sprinted off to the bathroom to hide her mermaid identity a handful of times since she had become a mermaid. She wondered if anyone would start to think about how suspicious that was. She wondered if she could continue with motocross with the life she was now forced to live. She felt tears in her eyes at the mere thought of having to give it all up.

Rikki didn't want to race anymore. She was upset with Zane for pointing out her flaws and she was worried her mermaid life was actually going to take away something important from her. If she was sad or conflicted, she'd usually ride her bike but she found not for the first time since she had moved to Gold Coast, riding her bike was the last thing she wanted to do. She ran down to where she had left her bike and rode it up to it's stall and changed out of her suit.

As Rikki was walking away from the track, she felt a pair of eyes on her. She looked down to see Zane quickly put his helmet back on and ride off. Rikki shook her head and walked back to her trailer. She always tried to reinvent herself when she moved to new places but she didn't think she would ever be so drastic as to quitting motocross and becoming a mermaid.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7: Rikki's Rescue

Several weeks had gone by since Rikki and Zane's argument at the track. They reverted back to the disagreeing couple they had been when they first met. Zane continued his immature antics, targeting all three of the girls. He had served them prune juice at the JuiceNet pretending they were colas. He, Miriam and Tiffany had laughed when Cleo took a sip and all but spit it out. He stopped laughing when Rikki had called him immature. He crashed the girls' party later on, flirting with ever girl that had a pulse. Rikki pretended like it didn't bother her. She supposed on some level it didn't, she wasn't interested in someone as immature as him. Still, a part of her couldn't shake the guy she shared a lemon flavored sports drink with on the hill of the race track.

Rikki still continued to go to the track to train for the city tournament. She had only had a handful more mermaid scares since her fight with Zane. She seemed to be on a cycle where she would transform, think about quitting, become more comfortable and aware of the water threats and then accidentally transforming again. It was a cruel cycle that sometimes sent her straight back to her trailer or to the ocean, either alone or with the other girls.

Rikki went to the JuiceNet with Emma, Cleo and Lewis a few days back when Wilfred had shown them a documentary Lewis made when he won the junior film makers competition last year. She was ready to win the hero-themed competition by making a film about sharks. Who could get better footage of sharks than a mermaid? She would be a shoe-in.

Emma and Cleo were telling her about Harrison Bennett's record wind surfing time around Mako Island. Rikki had yet to see Zane be that pissed and closed up as when his dad was brought into conversation. Rikki wondered what he would be doing for the competition. She wondered if he would even be able to enter with his dad judging.

Rikki had come to the track after filming another boring interview session with Emma and her mum. She needed to get away from the girls for a bit but wasn't ready to go back to her trailer. The track would be the perfect place.

Zane was working on his bike when she walked into her stall next to his to get ready for a ride.

"Haven't seen you around here in a while." He told her. "You haven't been going soft have you?"

"I could ask you the same." Rikki replied as she dropped her backpack.

"I guess we just train on different days." Zane said.

"Maybe." Rikki replied. "Are you entering the film makers competition?"

"Sort of." Zane replied. "Why? Sizing up the competition?"

"None of your business." Rikki shrugged.

"Then why are you asking?" Zane scoffed.

"It doesn't matter," Rikki said. "I'm working with Emma and her idea isn't exactly... exciting."

"Not surprising." Zane said. "For your information, I'm going to break my dad's windsurfing record and catch it on film for the competition."

"Break your dad's record?" Rikki replied. "How are you going to do that when you haven't been practicing?"

"I've been practicing." Zane told her.

"Around Mako?" Rikki asked. She spent almost all her time out there since she had become a mermaid and had yet to see him. She doubted he had surfed out there. He also had all his limbs intact, she could tell he hadn't been out to Mako or a shark likely would have gotten him.

"No, just around the coast." Zane said.

"Right," Rikki scoffed. "Because there are so many sharks off the coast. Perfect practice ground."

Rikki was standing by the wall that divided their stalls and Zane had looked up to her at her last statement.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Rikki." Zane said.

"It's not an opinion, it's a fact." Rikki said. "Do you know how dumb and dangerous it is out there?"

"Look," he said walking up to her. "If my dad can do it, I can do it and better. Why don't you just stick to making your own boring film?"

"Fine." Rikki replied, moving to her stall and mounting her bike. "I just wanted to see if you had rocks for brains. I guess you do."

Rikki sped off from her stall and saw an angry look on Zane's face. She knew she had annoyed the hell out of him but she hoped he might consider her warning and change his mind about breaking his dad's record.

Rikki had been filming sharks when she heard his cries for help. Zane had really been dumb enough to go wind surfing and sounded like he was in trouble. Rikki didn't think twice as she dropped her camera and sped off, stopping just below him. She looked up just in time to see two Mako Sharks circling him. Rikki didn't know if there was anything she could do. She couldn't speak to the shark and ask him to leave Zane alone. She couldn't physically fight it. She was much stronger in her mermaid form but she doubted she could take on a shark. Rikki saw the shark bite her in her mind and her mermaid body float to the surface, just in time for Zane to see it before he got mauled himself. Whatever she would do to save him, she'd have to move quick.

Rikki figured the sharks wouldn't like boiling water. Could she boil the water when they were in the ocean? Could she do it without harming Zane? Sure, he'd survive but he'd have severe burn marks on his legs, not to mention what might happen to her. Would that draw attention to hers and the girls' mermaid identities? Rikki closed her eyes and squeezed her hand imagining creating a barrier around herself and Zane. When she opened her eyes, she saw bubbles starting to rise and felt the water was heating up, just as she had pictured in her mind. The sharks that were circling Zane swam away from the barrier and she knew they were safe. Rikki doubted Zane would want to go underwater to look around but she would need to leave just in case he did. She smiled to herself and swam back to the camera she dropped.

Zane owed her big time.

Rikki, Cleo, Emma and Lewis arrived at the cafe on a Saturday night to watch the entrees for the junior film makers competition. Rikki wanted to show her shark footage but Lewis had annoyingly made the point of asking her how she would explain how she go it. Emma had also given up on her mum's interview saying some heroes don't need their stories told on film. Lewis had entered a film but had yet to tell anyone what it was about. Rikki figured it would either be genius or incredibly stupid. Lewis didn't seem to have much of a middle ground.

The entrees were all relatively to extremely boring, Rikki thought. Maybe heroes wasn't the best theme. If she wasn't supporting Lewis with the other girls, she would leave if she had to watch someone fly their Superman action figures around one more time. Finally, Lewis's film was set to be shown. Rikki didn't think Lewis would be as dumb or generic as to fly an action figure around with his hands and call it a film. Still, she was surprised when she saw Zane on screen, screaming for help. She had heard those screams before. Lewis had cut to a goldfish swimming beneath Zane rather than the terrifying sharks she knew were circling the helpless boy.

"You think that's funny?" Rikki asked Lewis with a bit of distaste in her tone.

"Uh, I think the audience is the best of that, Rikki." Lewis said. He was reveling in the laughter that was booming in the room. Zane looked back at their table, a look of disappointment and humiliation on his face.

"I was there, Lewis." Rikki told him, trying to keep the edge out of her voice. "Who do you think it was that scared the sharks in the first place? Zane isn't acting."

Lewis's smile dropped as he realized how serious Rikki was. Zane really was about to be torn apart by sharks on the screen and Lewis had made a mockery of his terror. The film ended and everyone in the cafe started clapping and wiping the tears from their faces from laughing so hard. All except for Rikki, Lewis and Zane. The response to Lewis's film was so much better than the others, Rikki knew he would win. She couldn't stand to see it. She was sure Lewis wouldn't feel to proud of himself either.

Rikki left the cafe before the winner was announced. She had planned on going home but something drew her out to the docks instead. She walked aimlessly around the docks, admiring the boats and yachts in place and enjoying the sound of the water splashing against the side of the pier. Despite what the other girls thought, Rikki often cursed her mermaid life. She hated the mood she would easily fall into when she would nearly be exposed. She hated questioning whether or not she could continue with motocross because of the few water threats. It was cool, growing a tail and heating up water and all but she wondered if her life would be better if she wasn't a mermaid. Today, however, she thought of it as a gift. If she wasn't a mermaid, Zane likely would have been shark food a few days ago.

Speak of the devil, Rikki saw Zane standing by his boat with a trophy in his hand. She knew he and Lewis had won. Rikki wondered how painful it was for him, how humiliating it was for him. Zane often deserved large slices of reality, he acted so cocky and arrogant. Rikki was often there to give him a large helping of said reality but he didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve his near death experience to be laughed at by all his friends and his father. No one deserved that.

"You were good." Rikki told him as she approached him. Zane looked between her and the trophy he had just won. Rikki just noticed it said "Best Acting". She felt even worse. There was nothing she could do to go back in time and stop the film from being shown but she could do her best to make him feel better.

"Acting, you mean?" Zane asked.

"No," Rikki replied, instantly. She knew he wasn't acting anyway. "The whole thing about surfing around Mako and everything else. It took guts."

Rikki was pleased to see him crack a smile. He looked from her to his trophy back to the water.

"You're the only one who thinks so." Zane told her. He wasn't at all mad she had told him as much. It had been a rough night for him and he was glad, for whatever reason, she took the time to talk to him.

Zane heard her take a few steps away from him. He smiled even more. He knew being nice wasn't her strong suit and their short conversation probably made her uncomfortable. Still, Zane found even though everyone else thought he was only trying to get attention or trying to compensate for not being able to break his dad's record, he didn't care anymore. Rikki thought he had done good. That was all he cared about at the moment.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8: Zane's Rival

The city motocross tournament was fast approaching which meant the tracks were getting more and more busy. Gold Coast was a big town, there was more than one track to race at. Some were much fancier than Henry's and required membership fees and what not. Zane reckoned he could always join one of those tracks, money wasn't an obstacle. He enjoyed the atmosphere at Henry's far too much. Plus, he was the reigning city champion but there was someone new in town bringing a serious challenge. He needed to keep as close an eye on her as possible.

The tracks in town would seed their racers and they would then be divided into heats, top racers going with the bottom seeds and so on until they met in the middle. Henry was in charge of making the list since he knew all the racers so well. Other track owners and coaches would have the racers compete right then and there for their seeds but Henry just observed them over the year. Zane always felt Henry's list was the most accurate of anyone in town. He had a suspicion some of the membership tracks were paid off for first seed spots. No way a fifth seed was ten seconds faster than a first seed.

Zane had been a first seed at the track since his first city tournament a few years back. He was always confident he and Nate would be at the top of the leaderboard. However, Rikki presented a new challenge this year. On one hand, she had beat him countless times. Zane had only beat her once and Henry wasn't there to see it. On the other hand, he was victorious countless times. His record was better than Rikki's. He wondered how much that counted in regards to his seed placement.

Henry would be announcing the seeds at the track after school. Zane felt his heart thump in his chest as he tried to think if there was anyway he'd get a first seed bid yet again. He'd want to be a first seed, he had some unfinished business to take care of.

Zane spotted Rikki also heading to the track. He wondered if they were back on talking terms. She had been nice to him on the docks a few weeks back. Still, she didn't seem to want much to do with him at the track. She was so confusing.

"Anxious to see the seeds?" Rikki had asked him once he caught up to her.

"A bit." Zane lied. He was beyond nervous. "I've been first seed since I can remember. Now, I've got some serious competition."

"True." Rikki replied. "I suppose we might be locked in a battle. How does Henry seed us?"

"Hell if I know." Zane told her. "To be honest, I haven't paid that much attention in the past."

"Well, I guess we'll see how the chips fall." Rikki told him as they approached the shop where seemingly all the motocross racers, those who had entered and those who had not, were waiting for Henry to exit the shop and announce the seeds.

Henry stepped out of the shop with a wireless microphone. If Zane knew him better, he'd say Henry looked pissed. He wondered why that would be.

"Here are the seeds for the city tournament." Henry started. He must be pissed, he'd usually give some speech about sticking together and all that campfire crap. The air surrounding everyone changed too.

"Our track's first seed is Zane Bennett." Henry said. The crowd gave a roar and Zane himself was excited and surprised. He was sure the old man was going to give Rikki a first seed. He liked her better and they both knew she was a better racer.

"Second seed will be Nate Campbell." Henry continued. Now Zane was really shocked. Nate had never beat Rikki. Why did Henry give him a higher seed?

"Third seed is Noah Cook." Henry continued. This made no sense. Did Rikki not register for the tournament? Had she changed her mind last minute? Zane listened as Henry listed off name after name wondering if Henry had possibly made a mistake. He glanced over to Rikki to see what her reaction was. He wished he hadn't. She looked devastated. Clearly she wanted to be in the race.

"Finally, our tenth and final seed for this year is Rikki Chadwick." Henry announced. "I'll post the first round of heats on the wall so you can see where you and other racers will start. That's all."

Zane was flabbergasted. How in the world had Rikki dropped to the last seed in the tournament? He would reluctantly admit she was the best racer at the track, she deserved a number one seed.

Rikki herself looked surprised. It wasn't a good surprised, it was as if someone had walked up to her and slapped her in the face. Zane wanted to say something but he didn't know what. He didn't think he could give his first seed to her and he honestly didn't want to be a tenth seed.

"Rikki," Zane started anyway, hoping his brain would work faster than his mouth.

"I'm going to talk to Henry." She said, cutting him off and walking into the shop. Zane sighed wondering what she was going to do. He reckoned she couldn't ask him to switch her seed with someone else.

Zane stepped forward to look at the heats. There were a total of forty racers, ten from each track. There were just four racers in each heat, only the top two finishers advancing to the next round. The following round worked similarly putting two of the winners from the previous heats together and then having the final ten racers compete for the championship. Once Zane had eyes on the heats he realized he and Rikki would be competing in the same heat along with the bastard that nearly cost him the competition last year. That poor other tenth seed didn't stand a chance.

Zane heard the shop door open with a bang and Rikki stormed out, passing him and making her way to the exit.

"Rikki!" Zane called after her as she continued to walk. "Rikki, wait.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he jumped in front of her.

"I don't want to talk about it." Rikki told him as she brushed past him.

Zane wanted to continue to protest, ask her what had happened with Henry and follow her wherever she was going. Rikki was odd. She was very secretive and kept to herself and her two best friends, Zane had noticed. She didn't seem like the type that would open up as soon as she was given the chance.

Zane thought he might have better luck with Henry. The old man was annoying but at least he was upfront with Zane when he had a question or wanted to make a complaint. Zane was also curious as to whether Rikki's seed placement was at all related to Henry's sour mood.

"Hey, Henry," Zane started as he entered the shop.

"What do you want?" Henry asked as if Zane was the last person he wanted to see.

"I guess I was just...confused about Rikki's seed." Zane said.

"Yeah, you and me both." Henry replied.

"Come again?" Zane asked.

"She's not out there, is she?" Henry asked.

"No," Zane replied. "I think she went home."

"Poor girl." Henry shook his head. "She's trying to make a living in a man's world. She's doing a hell of a job but some people need more convincing.

"I didn't give her that seed." Henry continued when he saw the confused look on Zane's face. "I wanted to give her the first seed if I'm being honest with you. I know the guys that own the tracks around here. I wasn't going to mention Rikki was a girl because I knew they'd screw her over but I guess word had made its way around town. They asked who the girl at my track was and I told them. It was all I could do to just keep her in the race."

Zane was upset. How could any of those track owners think less of Rikki just because she was a girl? He supposed he himself would have thought the same if he didn't know Rikki, if he hadn't raced against her.

"Well... she'll show them." Zane said before he left the shop.

Rikki wanted to go home but she was meant to meet the girls at the JuiceNet after the seeds were announced. Maybe she could convince them to join her on a swim. She needed to think about anything other than motocross. She was pissed she only got tenth seed because she was a girl. This wasn't the first time Rikki had been screwed over because she was a girl in motocross and she had a feeling it wouldn't be the last time. It didn't make the pain any easier to take.

It had been ten minutes and neither Cleo or Emma had shown up to the cafe. Rikki was beginning to wonder if they would show at all. She was thirsty so she thought she'd get a juice and then take a swim before heading home. She had just placed a hand on the bar top when the guy next to her had knocked his juice over, spilling the liquid all over her hand. Rikki gasped and ran to the bathroom, hoping it would be empty. She had just closed the door when she transformed into a mermaid. This whole routine of transforming in the bathroom was really old.

Rikki stepped out of the bathroom once she had returned to normal. She was too annoyed now to get herself a juice, she just wanted to go for a swim.

"Hey," the guy from a moment ago shouted to her. "You all right?"

"Yeah," Rikki replied. At least he had the decency to ask if she was okay.

"Good." He said, still staying in his seat. "You want to join us?"

"Oh, no I've got to get going." Rikki said. She didn't want to be rude but she also wasn't in the mood to make any new friends today.

"Damn, too bad," he started. "We could have used a pretty girl in our friend group."

"Well, now that you put it that way, definitely not." Rikki replied giving the pretty, blonde boy a smug look.

Rikki was about to exit the cafe when she ran into Zane who had just entered. She quietly pushed past him and headed out to the pier. She could feel his eyes on her but she hoped he wouldn't follow.

"Zane Bennett," the pretty, blonde boy said to Zane once Rikki had left. "Another good round of friendly competition this year, huh mate?"

"I'm not sure I'd call what you did last year, friendly, Will." Zane told the guy.

"Well since when are you one to play by the rules, Zane?" Will told him as he walked up to Zane. "You know I'm the first seed at my track this year too."

"I noticed." Zane replied. "Good luck getting past the first round."

Will started laughing as if Zane had told him a hilarious joke.

"Oh, please, Bennett," Will started. "You really think one of those tenth seeds have a chance to beat us?"

"One of them has beat me before," Zane told him. "Multiple times, actually."

Will's smile dropped and he gave Zane a look of surprise and confusion. It wasn't a little known fact that Zane had been unbeatable in motocross races until Rikki had arrived. If someone had beaten him multiple times, they were damn good.

"All I'm saying is don't get too cocky," Zane said. "It might be your biggest mistake yet, mate."

Zane pushed past Will to join Nate and his mates at a table. Will had been Zane's biggest competition outside of anyone at Henry's track. To say Will played dirty was an understatement. Like Zane, Will's family was loaded so he joined a fancy track that likely took bribes for seed placement. Zane would admit, Will was at least good. He had been a second seed the past few years and came in third to Zane and Nate often. That didn't mean he did it honestly. Even in years previous, Will had been the ringleader, the instigator of his track, trying to cheat as slyly as possible and create chaos. He had almost thrown Zane off his bike and into a ditch last year. Zane was lucky he had decided to look back and maneuver his bike so it would be impossible for Will to stop him. Will had slammed his helmet into the ground after he crossed the finish line. Zane thought it was hilarious.

This year, Will was a first seed and he was in the first race with Zane and Rikki. Zane knew if Will didn't try any tricks, he and Rikki would win the heat, easy. Still, Zane had no idea what his rival would do.

AN: Hey guys! I hope you have been enjoying this story so far! I've really been enjoying writing it and all the love and support you guys have offered! I wanted to include a bit of a visual of how the seeds will work for the city tournament. It's hard to describe in words so I wanted to have a visual in case it doesn't make sense.

CITY TOURNAMENT BRACKET

1st Round

Race 1:

5th Seed from Track 1, 5th Seed from Track 2, 6th Seed from Track 1, 6th Seed from Track 2 (Top 2 Advance)

Race 2:

5th Seed from Track 3, 5th Seed from Henry's Track, 6th Seed from Track 3, 6th Seed from Henry's Track (Top 2 Advance)

Race 3:

4th Seed from Track 2, 4th Seed from Track 3, 7th Seed from Track 2, 7th Seed from Track 3 (Top 2 Advance)

Race 4:

4th Seed from Henry's Track, 4th Seed from Track 1, 7th Seed from Henry's Track, 7th Seed from Track 1 (Top 2 Advance)

Race 5:

3rd Seed from Track 3, Noah Cook (3rd Seed from Henry's Track), 8th Seed from Track 3, 8th Seed from Henry's Track (Top 2 Advance)

Race 6:

3rd Seed from Track 1, 3rd Seed from Track 2, 8th Seed from Track 1, 8th Seed from Track 2 (Top 2 Advance)

Race 7:

2nd Seed from Track 3, Nate Campbell (2nd Seed from Henry's Track), 9th Seed from Track 3, 9th Seed from Henry's Track (Top 2 Advance)

Race 8:

2nd Seed from Track 2, 2nd Seed from Track 1, 9th Seed from Track 2, 9th Seed from Track 1 (Top 2 Advance)

Race 9:

Luke Williamson (1st Seed from Track 1), Eric Morgan (1st Seed from Track 3), 10th Seed from Track 1, 10th Seed from Track 3 (Top 2 Advance)

Race 10:

Zane Bennett (1st Seed from Henry's Track), Will Benjamin (1st Seed from Track 2), Rikki Chadwick (10th Seed from Henry's Track), 10th Seed from Track 2 (Top 2 Advance)

Chapter Text

Chapter 9: Rikki & Zane's Disbelief

When Zane woke up, it had become very clear he was underwater. He shot up hoping he'd be able to get some air in his lungs. The water was filling the cabin of the old, rusty boat quickly. It was only up to his knees but he needed to get out now. He trudged through the water to the door but found no matter how hard he tugged on it, it wouldn't open. He was trapped.

Zane had gone after the old woman when he saw she had sank his jet ski. He had enough problems to worry about between school, the city tournament, his dad's upcoming seminar and his social life he didn't have time for this. It wasn't hard to catch her on his Zodiac, her old boat wasn't very fast. He boarded and started laying into her when she collapsed. Thankfully, Lewis and Emma had come for Ms. Chatham. Zane wasn't ready to head back to the mainland yet. There was all sort of things in this boat, something had to be valuable. Something had to be able to pay for the damage she had done on his jet ski. He had gone through nothing but junk when an explosion had happened. That was the last thing he could remember before waking up.

The water had been at his knees what felt like mere seconds ago but was now up to his torso. Zane didn't know how he was going to get out of the cabin, but he had to find a way. The windows wouldn't break, the door wouldn't open. He didn't know what else to do but he had to escape, he couldn't die on this rusty boat. If he did, he'd make sure his ghost would haunt Ms. Chatham forever.

The water was up to his shoulders now. He saw his life flash before his eyes. He wondered how his loved ones would handle his death. He wondered if his dad would be truly upset aside from having to find someone else to help him with his business events. He wondered who Nate would ride bikes and surf with. Oddly enough, he thought of Rikki too. Would she care he was gone at all?

Zane kissed the ceiling of the boat as he dove under the water. He swam to the door, hopelessly trying to get out. Maybe by some miracle he could bust out of this hellhole. Maybe, just maybe there was some way he could survive.

He was weak after what felt like hours banging on the door. He drifted back to the bottom of the boat. His brain wanted to continue to try to find a way out but his body wouldn't work anymore. He'd pass out soon and then his life would be no more. What a boring life he had lived. He had done nothing but ride his bike, bully his classmates and whine to his father. He hadn't done so many things he thought he would. He hadn't been to another country on his own dime, he hadn't won a motocross competition any larger than the city tournament, he hadn't fallen in love with a girl. He tried to think of all the things he had done that had come close to those. He didn't want his last thoughts to be negative. He had been several places in the country with his dad, he had won the city tournament many times which had to count for something. When he thought of a girl he might have been in love with, he thought he would think of Miriam. Everyone seemed to think they were together for whatever reason. Instead, he thought of the girl working on her bike in a black tank top and black denim shorts.

Zane heard a loud bang on the cabin door. What the hell could that have been? Zane looked at the door that was now cracked open. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was a large, orange, scaly fish tail.

Rikki spent every waking moment she could on the racetrack. She needed to practice and show these arrogant and sexist track owners she could do anything, despite being a girl. She wanted to win the tournament before but now she had a motivation, a drive she never knew she possessed.

It was getting dark outside and she knew Henry would be asking her to pack up soon. She had been the only one on the track for a few minutes now. Rikki took her helmet off as Henry exited the shop when she heard Zane yell for Henry. They had a short conversation Rikki couldn't hear but she figured Zane had annoyed the old man (nothing abnormal) and she saw Henry give him the keys. What in the world was Zane doing?

"Hey," Zane said to her as he ran down the hill. "Do you mind staying for a bit? Henry wouldn't let me otherwise."

"What if I have something important to do?" Rikki asked.

"Hey, I stayed at the track with you when you had a bad day," Zane started. "You owe me."

If Zane knew how much he really owed her.

"What if I don't want to?" Rikki asked. "You can't make me stay here."

"Please," Zane pleaded as she walked her bike past him. He sounded desperate so she turned around to look at him. He wore a look of sadness. "Just a few laps, I promise. You can do whatever you want."

"Fine." Rikki sighed after a moment. "Only a few laps. I'm exhausted."

"Great, thanks." Zane smiled as he ran past her to get his own bike.

Rikki raced Zane on one final lap before she rode her bike to it's stall. It was good to know even when she was tired, she could still beat Zane. She reckoned that was good news for her. Even the reigning city champion couldn't touch her. Tenth seed her ass.

Once Rikki had put her bike away and changed out of her suit, she entered the shop and grabbed two strawberry flavored sports drinks. She liked those better than lemon anyway. She took a seat on the hill and watched as Zane rode around for a few minutes more. He really was very good at motocross. She could tell he was a natural.

Finally, he rode past her and parked his bike back in his stall. She heard his footsteps behind her until he stopped to take a seat beside her and opened his drink.

"So what's running through your mind today?" Rikki asked him.

"What's not running through my mind?" Zane mused.

"Well, what brought you out here?" Rikki tried again. "Clearly it was something heavy for you to come out here."

"What was on your mind the last time we stayed late?" Zane asked.

"I asked you first." Rikki told him.

"'I asked you first?'" He quipped. "How old are you, ten?"

"Funny," Rikki replied. "Today isn't about me though, is it?"

Zane sighed and shook his head. He and Rikki had their moments but she was so secretive it drove him mad sometimes. He wondered if whatever was going through her mind that day would help him feel more at ease. He could still tremble with fear at the thought of what happened to him. He could still tremble at the image of the creature that saved him.

"Well, I suppose I should be dead." Zane told her as casually as he could.

"That's a little dramatic, don't you think?" Rikki said.

"No, I'm serious." Zane said. "I went out to the docks today and saw that... stupid, old woman had damaged my jet ski again."

"Ms. Chatham?" Rikki asked.

"Yeah," Zane replied. "That stupid, old hag."

"So how did Ms. Chatham damaging your boat almost lead to your death?" Rikki asked. "Does the jet ski mean that much to you?"

"No," Zane started. "I suppose that would be a bit dramatic if that was all. She had left the port so I took off after her in my Zodiac. It didn't take long to find her. I started to confront her but she had another fit or whatever. Emma and Lewis showed up to take her back. I reckon I should have gone with them."

"You stayed on her boat?" Rikki asked. "Why?"

"She damaged my jet ski," Zane said. "She had to have something on the boat that could compensate for it."

"Stealing from an incapacitated, old, woman," Rikki started. "Nice move."

"She'll have to pay for the damage to my jet ski anyway," Zane said. "I just thought I'd do her a favor."

Rikki shook her head. "All right so what happened after you rummaged through her stuff?"

Zane sighed before continuing. This was where it got serious. "There was some sort of explosion. I must have hit my head on something and passed out. When I woke up, I was underwater. The old rust bucket started sinking and I was trapped inside the cabin. I tried everything to get out."

"So how did you manage to escape?" Rikki asked.

"I'm not too sure, really." Zane told her. "I- when the boat was completely submerged, I started to black out again. I heard this loud bang on the door and that was it."

"Did you see what made the noise?" Rikki asked. "A shark, maybe?"

"No," Zane replied. "No, it wasn't a shark."

"What was it then?" Rikki asked.

"I don't..." Zane started. "I don't know. It didn't look like anything I'd ever seen in the ocean before."

"What did it look like?" Rikki asked.

"Well, it was big." Zane said. "No tuna could have made that big of a bang. It was...orange and covered in scales. It was powerful and strong but somehow...elegant."

Rikki wondered if Zane happened to be rescued by Cleo or Emma. The three had big, strong, orange, scaly tails when they were in the water. Rikki herself had already saved Zane once, it didn't seem unlikely that Cleo or Emma would do the same if he put himself in a compromising situation again. He seemed to be good at that.

"I need to find out what it was." Zane continued. "I know this sounds crazy but... I think it saved me."

More than likely, Rikki thought. A crazier thought was that Rikki probably knew what saved him. The girls had agreed to keep their mermaid identity a secret. It didn't sound like Zane had seen the face of the mermaid or even realized it was a mermaid he saw but Rikki couldn't have him finding out, not with his track record.

"Maybe you were just seeing things." Rikki shrugged.

"'Seeing things?'" Zane repeated. "If I was seeing things, how did I get out of the boat?"

"I'm not sure." Rikki answered, honestly. "It just sounds so strange. Too strange to be real."

"Are you saying you don't believe me?" Zane asked, standing up from his seat on the ground.

"I'm saying you were without oxygen for a few minutes, you could have been hallucinating." Rikki said as she stood up with him.

"I wasn't hallucinating." Zane said.

"How can you be so sure?" Rikki asked.

"Because I'm here, Rikki." Zane shouted. "Because I'm not dead at the bottom of the ocean like I should be."

"Well, maybe you should be more careful from now on." Rikki told him. "Think before you act and all that stuff."

Zane shook his head at her. "You know, I don't care if you believe me. I guess I just thought you might be able to comfort me like I did for you the last time we stayed here late."

"Since when do I have an obligation to do that?" Rikki asked.

"You're right." Zane sighed. "You don't have to. You don't have to comfort me, you don't have to believe me. But I'm going to look for the sea creature and I can't wait to see the look on your face when I find it."

Zane turned around and walked back up to the stalls to grab his stuff and leave. Rikki knew if Zane did find the sea creature, she wouldn't at all be surprised. How disappointing for him.

Rikki followed him up to her stall where she changed out of her suit and packed her stuff up. When she pulled out her phone, she saw she had several missed calls from Emma. Zane had left before she did but she made sure she would get a good distance away from him before calling Emma back.

"Hello?" She heard Emma say once she picked up the phone.

"Hey, it's me." Rikki said.

"Rikki!" Emma exclaimed. "Where have you been?"

"At the track," Rikki replied. "You know how it is, training for a big tournament and all."

"Right, yeah." Emma answered with a slight pain in her voice. Rikki wished she didn't say anything. Emma probably loved swimming just as much as Rikki loved motocross. Rikki was thankful she wouldn't have to give up her sport because of her mermaid life.

"Listen, we've got bigger problems, just get to my house as soon as you can." Emma said.

"All right," Rikki replied. "I'll see you soon."

Chapter Text

Chapter 10: Rikki's Rather Obvious Victory

Emma told Rikki about her rescue off of Ms. Chatham's boat. Rikki tried to act surprised, as if she hadn't heard a similar story from Zane just an hour or so before. Emma was worried he would hunt them, he seemed pretty keen on finding the creature even when she had pulled him out of the water. Rikki couldn't say she wasn't worried as well.

It wasn't like Zane was going to figure out they were mermaids, much less mermaids existed any time soon so Rikki was focused on the city tournament. She noticed more and more people were coming to the track, whether to train themselves or just watch. She supposed it made sense, Zane was the reigning champion and he trained here. If she was just an outsider, she'd be scooping this track out too.

Rikki made it to the first day of competition, only having one mermaid scare in the training leading up to it. Hers and Zane's race would be the last one of the day. She woke up early for a quick swim, finding those usually helped get her day off to a good start and then made her way to the track to grab her stuff and ride over to the first race track nearby. She had heard it was one of the tracks you had to pay a membership fee to attend. She imagined it was nice.

"You ready for today?" She heard from the stall beside hers.

"So you're speaking to me again?" She asked.

"Well, we do represent the same track." Zane told her as he came around the corner. "I thought I'd at least wish you luck today."

"Thanks." Rikki said. She sighed before she continued. "Look, I'm sorry about the other day. Do you just... ever wonder if what you're doing is dangerous?"

"Boats don't usually sink, Rikki." Zane said.

"What about the Mako Sharks?" Rikki asked. "When you tried to break your dad's windsurfing record?"

"I... wait," Zane started. "How did you know there were Mako Sharks out there?"

Rikki froze as if Emma had used her powers on her. She supposed no one believed there were any sharks around Zane that day. She and Zane were the only ones that saw them. He claimed many times over that there were indeed sharks but people seemed to like Lewis's goldfish idea better.

"You said there were." Rikki replied, trying to hide the fact that she was lying. "I believe you."

"Really?" Zane asked. He had a hopeful look in his eyes.

"Yes, because sharks are real." Rikki said. "Whatever this thing is... you don't even know if it exists."

"Rikki," Zane started, his voice low but deadly. "How else would I be here?"

"I'm sure there's some other, more logical, explanation." Rikki told him.

"If you have one, I'd love to hear it." Zane said.

Rikki sighed in response. Of course she didn't have one. She knew the truth, she knew what and who rescued Zane. She just wanted him to back off.

"We shouldn't talk about this today." Rikki finally said. "Do you want to ride over there with me?"

Zane shook his head and let out a scoff. "Sure."

Rikki put her helmet on and watched as Zane did the same and followed him out of Henry's track. She cursed herself for bringing the sea creature up. That was all she could think about now, she needed to focus on the race. She imagined a water bottle splashing in her face at the track and her being exposed in front of everyone. She wondered what Zane would do. Her tail would be nearly identical to the one he saw when he was blacking out. Would he think she saved him? Would he help her hide? Would he only brag about how he had been right?

Rikki shook all of those thoughts from her head as they arrived at the race track and checked in. She could worry about this later, she had to worry about winning her heat today.

The results of the first few races weren't surprising. The fifth and sixth seeds came close but the times seemed to only spread out more and more as the races continued. Rikki felt the races between the second and ninth seeds were almost unfair. The second seeds could beat them by full laps if this race was longer. She didn't even want to think about how bad the first versus tenth seed races were going to be. She hoped she would be the exception. She knew she could win as long as she stayed on her bike and managed to avoid any water dangers, which she had done with ease thus far. There wasn't any reason why today would be different.

"You've got to be kidding me." Rikki heard from behind her. It was the guy from the JuiceNet, the one that had hit on her. He was a dick, she should have known this guy was into motocross.

"What is a pretty girl like you doing in this race?" The boy asked her. Rikki rolled her eyes at him. It wasn't the first time someone had asked her that and she figured it wouldn't be the last.

"I reckon the same thing an asshole of a guy like you is doing." Rikki shot back. "Just trying to win my heat."

The boy doubled over laughing at her. Rikki glared at him. What was so funny about that?

"Please, you're a tenth seed!" The boy said. "Have you not been watching the races? Tenths seeds don't win. What makes you think you're so special?"

"Well unlike the others, you don't know anything about me." Rikki told him. The boy looked like she had slapped him in the face. She always relished in the aftermath of her comebacks.

"Will!" Rikki heard Zane call. Both Rikki and the boy turned to look at Zane as he walked up to the the pair near the waiting area.

"Leave her alone." Zane told the boy Rikki assumed was named Will.

"You got your boyfriend looking out for you, sweetheart?" Will asked Rikki, gesturing to Zane.

"I've asked you nicely." Zane told him as he grabbed Will's shoulder pad. "Why don't you just get ready for the race?"

"Fine." Will scoffed at Zane. "I've got better things to do anyway."

Will pushed past Zane, making sure to knock their shoulders together. Zane looked back to make sure Will was leaving and then turned to Rikki.

"He didn't do anything to you, did he?" Zane asked her.

"Nothing I couldn't handle." Rikki said, giving his a small smile. "If anything, he made me want to win that much more."

Zane smiled back at her. "You know a tenth seed has never won the city tournament before."

"Neither has a girl as far as I'm aware." Rikki told him. "But there's a first time for everything."

Zane wanted to tell her to not be so cocky but he figured she was speaking the truth. As much as he would love to repeat his victory yet again, a part of him wouldn't mind seeing Rikki at the top of the podium.

Rikki beckoned him to join her at the starting line. Their race would begin soon. Their names were announced and met with cheers, particularly for Zane and Will. Rikki supposed that made sense, they were likely two of the best racers here and Zane was a defending champion. Rikki did notice Cleo, Emma and Lewis had shown up and they cheered loudly for her when they announced Rikki's name. Her dad was absent as always. She didn't concentrate on that too much, she was focused on the race.

The whistle was blown and the four racers took off. Zane and Will took the early lead but Rikki wasn't too far behind. The other tenth seed fell behind instantly and Rikki knew he wouldn't be in the race at all. Rikki was just waiting for a sharp turn, Zane probably knew that's what she was looking for too. He had taken the inner track away from Will so it would be difficult for Will to take that back. They hit their first sharp turn and Rikki did what she did best and defied gravity. When she came up from the turn, she was in second place, only behind Zane who had likely taken a trick from her book. She heard Will's engine rev but she ignored it, knowing there was nothing he could do to catch the two of them now.

Rikki wouldn't mind coming in second to Zane. This wasn't the final race so the placements didn't matter much. Maybe it would be smart to come in second, keep her odds of winning low. Still, her pride wouldn't let her settle for anything less. She had beat Zane a million times over, she could do it again. She caught some luck at a jump he took far too high and out of control and took the lead away from him. The rest of the track was a straight shot, she could win this. She was the first one to cross the finish line, knowing she had advanced. She wasn't at all surprised when the orange bike belonging to Zane followed her mere seconds later and then begrudgingly came Will. The other tenth seed had wiped out on the first turn.

Rikki hopped off her bike and removed her helmet in excitement, jubilation and a bit of relief. It would have been embarrassing to be knocked out on this round. She wasn't surprised when Zane did the same thing. She was surprised when she found herself running to him, wrapping her arms around him. He didn't hesitate to do the same to her, as if that was his plan too. The announcer was going crazy, screaming about how a tenth seed had won a heat, how a tenth seed had beat two first seeds, how a girl had beat three guys. Rikki didn't register that as much as she did being in Zane's arms.

"You did it!" He told her as he backed away just enough to look her in the face.

"You did it!" She repeated back to him. She supposed the results of this race didn't matter too much. As long as they got first and second, that was all that would matter.

"Hey, lovebirds," Will started as he walked up to them. A blind man could tell he was pissed off. "What the hell was that?"

"I told you not to get too cocky, mate." Zane said.

"Better luck next year." Rikki told him.

"This isn't over." Will told them as he walked back to his bike. The final tenth seed finally crossed the finish line.

"I think the scoreboard would beg to differ." Rikki told him.

Will gave her an angry look and shook his head as he hopped on his bike and rode off. Henry approached the two next.

"Congratulations, you two!" Henry said as he raced up to the track. "I knew you could do it!"

Henry reached his hand out to shake theirs and that was when Rikki realized she was still hugging Zane. She dropped her arms from around him and shook Henry's hand and then he shook Zane's.

"Rikki!" She heard her name called as Cleo, Emma and Lewis all lined up to hug and congratulate her and Zane's friends did the same but gave him some flack for loosing to Rikki. Oddly enough, he looked like he didn't mind.

"We should celebrate!" Cleo said. "Do you want to grab a juice after this?"

"Yeah, sure." Rikki said. "I've just got to take my bike back to the track and I'll meet you guys there."

Cleo, Emma and Lewis nodded as they walked away and Rikki got ready to ride her bike back to Henry's track. She rested her helmet on her handlebars as soon as Emma was out of sight. Rikki preferred to not wear a helmet when she was just riding her bike around. She liked the feeling of the wind in her face and hair. She couldn't get that with her helmet on. Once she arrived at her stall, she changed out of her suit and got ready to head out just as Zane pulled into his stall.

"Any celebrations planned for tonight?" Rikki asked him.

"Yeah, a bunch of us are heading to the JuiceNet to celebrate me and Nate." Zane told her. Rikki had forgotten Nate had won his heat too. "You're welcome to come if you want."

"Thanks, I'll already be there." Rikki told him. "Cleo suggested we celebrate too."

"I should have guessed." Zane replied. "It's not exactly a hidden treasure is it?"

"No," Rikki replied. "Do you want to walk there together, then?"

"Sure." Zane said. "Just let me change out of my stuff."

"All right." Rikki replied as she walked into the shop to grab a water. She hadn't thought to get one before she left the track and was feeling parched. She didn't realize the condensation that had formed around the cold bottle until she collapsed on the ground of the shop, looking at the same orange tail Zane had described seeing on Ms. Chatham's boat. Rikki moved herself to the back corner of the shop. She doubted Zane would see her or come see her but she didn't want to risk it. She dropped the water bottle and began drying herself off. She had just transformed back into her human form when Zane had walked inside.

"What are you doing?" He asked her. She was still sitting on the floor.

"Just... getting a water." Rikki shrugged.

"How'd you end up on the floor?" Zane asked.

"I tripped." Rikki lied.

"On what?" Zane asked. "The floor?"

"Yeah," Rikki replied. It's not like there was a big tripping hazard anywhere nearby. "I'm just clumsy, you know."

"Okay." Zane said. He still had a suspicious look in his eye. "Did you get your water?"

"Yeah," Rikki lied again as she stood up. "I didn't really want much though, we're about to get juice, right?"

"I suppose." Zane said.

"Are you ready to go?" Rikki asked, desperately needing to change the subject.

"Uh, yeah." Zane replied. "Yeah, let's go."

The pair left the shop and made their way to the nearby cafe. It was very close to the track which was always a perk. They both went there after they had been racing quite often. Neither said much as they walked to the cafe which made it all the more awkward. They were so hot and cold, one second they were talking like they were best friends or even more and the next they were ready to tear each other's throats out.

"So um..." Zane finally started when the cafe was in view. "About that hug-"

"Oh, yeah sorry." Rikki replied. "I didn't mean to, I guess I was just so excited about winning the race I wanted to celebrate and you were there."

"Oh." Zane said. "Right, yeah same here."

"Good." Rikki replied. "So no weird feelings?"

"Uh no." Zane said. "No, definitely not."

"Great." Rikki said. "Well, I'm going to go hang out with my friends. I'll catch you later."

"Yeah, see you." Zane muttered.

Rikki must not have read Zane's emotions well or she just ignored them. He could have stayed in that hug with her for forever. She fit perfectly in his arms and he wanted to tell her as much. Zane was never the type to shy away from a crush, he'd made sure they knew about it. He had been suppressing his feelings for Rikki for a while now, he was ready to let her know how he felt. She had made her feelings pretty clear though. Zane didn't stay at the JuiceNet for too long, he suddenly wasn't in much of a mood to celebrate.

There were two other first seeds that won that night. Will was the only one that didn't. Those two would be facing Rikki and Zane in the next round. Will felt nothing but anger at the thought of Rikki. He thought he might lose to Zane but not some girl like her. It wasn't fair, he should have won. He had told them it wasn't over, it was far from over.

He went to the celebration for his friends. A part of him wished he didn't, everyone at the party was giving him shit for losing to a girl. They said he lost his touch, they said he would never come back from that. They were wrong, or at least that's what he kept telling himself.

"If it isn't the boy who lost to a little girl?" The guy Will had been looking for finally said.

"Luke." Will acknowledged him. "Can I speak to you?"

Luke Williamson was a first seed. He had won his heat clearly today. He was as cocky as hell but willing to play as dirty as Will did and as Zane once had. Will had a feeling something had changed in Zane. It wasn't like him to hug a competitor, even if they were on the same team.

"What is it?" Luke asked once he and Will were separated from the party.

"I need a favor from you." Will told him. "At the next race, I need you to do anything to make sure Rikki Chadwick loses."

"I don't think that will be a problem." Luke told him. "The bitch is up again all the first seeds. Or at least the ones that matter."

"I don't know if you noticed, but she beat another first seed besides myself today." Will told him.

"Bennett's going soft." Luke shrugged. "He won't last long this year the way he's going."

"Just..." Will started. "Don't get too cocky around the girl. Remember, anything to stop her. Anything at all."

"All right, fine." Luke said. "If my some miracle, she catches up to me, I'll throw her off her bike or something."

"Good." Will said. "Thanks for the invite."

Luke bid Will goodbye. Will left the party in higher spirits than he did when he arrived. He reckoned it was at the least a productive party.

AN: Hey guys! Again, I hope you guys are enjoying the story! I wanted to update the bracket I included with chapter 8 below!

CITY TOURNAMENT BRACKET

1st Round (Results)

Bold Designates Winners/Advancing Racers

Race 1:

5th Seed from Track 1, 5th Seed from Track 2, 6th Seed from Track 1, 6th Seed from Track 2

Race 2:

5th Seed from Track 3, 5th Seed from Henry's Track, 6th Seed from Track 3, 6th Seed from Henry's Track

Race 3:

4th Seed from Track 2, 4th Seed from Track 3, 7th Seed from Track 2, 7th Seed from Track 3

Race 4:

4th Seed from Henry's Track, 4th Seed from Track 1, 7th Seed from Henry's Track, 7th Seed from Track 1

Race 5:

3rd Seed from Track 3, Noah Cook (3rd Seed from Henry's Track), 8th Seed from Track 3, 8th Seed from Henry's Track

Race 6:

3rd Seed from Track 1, 3rd Seed from Track 2, 8th Seed from Track 1, 8th Seed from Track 2

Race 7:

2nd Seed from Track 3, Nate Campbell (2nd Seed from Henry's Track), 9th Seed from Track 3, 9th Seed from Henry's Track

Race 8:

2nd Seed from Track 2, 2nd Seed from Track 1, 9th Seed from Track 2, 9th Seed from Track 1

Race 9:

Luke Williamson (1st Seed from Track 1), Eric Morgan (1st Seed from Track 3), 10th Seed from Track 1, 10th Seed from Track 3

Race 10:

Zane Bennett (1st Seed from Henry's Track), Will Benjamin (1st Seed from Track 2), Rikki Chadwick (10th Seed from Henry's Track), 10th Seed from Track 2

2nd Round

Race 1:

Zane Bennett (1st Seed from Henry's Track), Luke Williamson (1st Seed from Track 1), Eric Morgan (1st Seed from Track 3), Rikki Chadwick (10th Seed from Henry's Track) (Top 2 Advance to Final Race)

Race 2:

2nd Seed from Track 3, Nate Campbell (2nd Seed from Henry's Track), 2nd Seed from Track 2, 2nd Seed from Track 1 (Top 2 Advance to Final Race)

Race 3:

3rd Seed from Track 3, Noah Cook (3rd Seed from Henry's Track), 3rd Seed from Track 1, 3rd Seed from Track 2 (Top 2 Advance to Final Race)

Race 4:

4th Seed from Track 3, 7th Seed from Track 3, 4th Seed from Henry's Track, 4th Seed from Track 1 (Top 2 Advance to Final Race)

Race 5:

5th Seed from Track 1, 5th Seed from Track 2, 5th Seed from Henry's Track, 6th Seed from Henry's Track (Top 2 Advance to Final Race)

Chapter Text

Chapter 11: The Kiss That Took Zane's Breath Away

The day after the first round of the tournament, Rikki had joined her dad for coffee on the porch of their small trailer. He had been reading the paper like he did every morning she was able to have coffee with him. Although they were rare, she loved the mornings they could sit and chat on the porch.

"You made the paper, sweetheart." Terry told her when she took her seat across from him.

"I did?" Rikki asked. She'd made small articles before when she won races in the previous towns she lived in but it was nothing more than a short article. She also never made the paper for any preliminary races.

"Yep, big picture right at the front of the sports section." Terry told her and held up the paper for her.

Rikki was surprised to see a large picture of herself on the front page. Someone must have caught it when she was hugging Zane. They were both wearing large smiles as they celebrated their victory. She couldn't help turning bright red from embarrassment. This was the first time a picture of her was in the paper and she was hugging Zane.

"Who's the bloke?" Terry asked his daughter.

"No one," Rikki said as she tried her best to curl up like an armadillo. "Just forget about it."

"All right." Terry said, giving her a knowing smile. "I have to head into the shop today. I'll see you tonight, sweetheart."

"Have a good day, Dad." Rikki told her dad as he walked back into the house.

Rikki grabbed the paper to read the article, doing her best to ignore the large picture of herself and Zane. It really wasn't much more than a paragraph about how she, a tenth seed and a girl, had beaten Zane and Will who were heavy contenders to win the city tournament. It also discussed the results of the other races and set up the next round. She'd be in a heat with Zane, Eric Morgan and Luke Williamson. The boys were all first seeds from their tracks. Rikki knew this next race would be tough and the time to celebrate was over. She would need to get back to training. She was meant to meet up with Cleo and Emma later today to discuss their plans for the full moon tonight so she should get started now.

After she got ready, she made her way to Henry's Track. There were more people lined up by the shop than she ever remembered seeing, more girls than anything. Rikki wondered what was going on until a little girl spotted her at the entrance and pointed at her, the crowd heading in her direction. It terrified the hell out of Rikki at first. The first girl to reach her couldn't have been older than seven.

"You're Rikki Chadwick, aren't you?" The girl asked her.

"Um...yeah," Rikki responded hesitantly.

"My brother told me girls couldn't do motocross." The girl said. "I believed him until I saw you won yesterday. Now I want to do it too."

The girl flung herself around Rikki's torso in a hug. Rikki had never been one to care much for little kids but this girl had melted her heart. Rikki always did motocross for her own enjoyment, she just happened to be a girl. She didn't realize the impact she could have on other young girls.

"You should do it if you want to." Rikki said after a moment. She knew she needed to pick her words carefully. "Don't let anyone tell you you can't, not even your brother."

The girl backed away to a woman who was seemingly her mother. The rest of the crowd asked for her autograph and for pictures. Rikki did the best to comply without being rude. She needed to get back to training.

"All right, all right." She heard loudly from somewhere deep in the crowd. It was Henry. Thank goodness, Rikki thought.

"Rikki's got to get back to training." Henry yelled over the crowd. "You're more than welcome to watch but you have to let the girl through."

Henry helped push the crowd out of the way. Rikki noticed some of them left the track and others went to the bleachers. This was odd, even for a girl who was secretly a mermaid. She wondered how obsessed these young girls would be with her if they found out she was a mermaid as well.

Rikki arrived at her stall and saw Zane was in his own stall, attending to his bike. She supposed she might have to do some work on hers as well after the race.

"Hey," she told him with a smile. She was surprised when he looked back up to her with a sour look on his face and returned to working on his bike.

"Not jealous, are you?" Rikki asked.

"No," Zane responded. He didn't stop working on his bike.

"All right, spit it out." Rikki started. "What's wrong?"

"I don't really want to talk about it, Rikki." Zane told her.

"Okay." Rikki said slowly as she walked to her own stall. "Do you want to train together when you're done with that?"

"No, not really." Zane said. "I'm just fixing a few things and then I'm going to hang out with Miriam."

"Miriam?" Rikki asked.

"Yeah," Zane replied as he walked over to her stall. "Jealous?"

Rikki was surprised at the smug look on his face. What was the matter with Zane? One minute he was a nice guy who hugged her after her victory and the next, he was a complete jerk. Something had to have triggered him but she didn't know what.

"No." Rikki responded quietly as she grabbed her own toolbox and started inspecting her bike. Zane went back to his stall where he stayed for a few more minutes and then he left without saying a word to her.

Zane had fallen asleep on one of the chairs by his pool. Miriam was pretty boring company. She'd just go on about clothes, belly button rings and money. She'd even talk to him about guys in school she thought were cute. He was supposedly her boyfriend, how was he supposed to take that?

He always had more fun with Rikki. She was smart, funny and sassy, not to mention she wasn't exactly bad looking. Zane was well aware of his feelings for her. He was going to ask her if she wanted something more when they were walking to the JuiceNet but she had brushed their hug off as a mistake, as something she did in the heat of the moment. He hadn't been rejected before. He didn't know how to take it so he simply chose to leave her alone, exclude her from his life.

He had a nightmare yet again about being trapped in Ms. Chatham's boat. More distinctly than anything, he saw the orange fish tail swim by. It flashed through his mind over and over again. It wasn't the first time he'd had this dream. He knew Rikki didn't want him to pursue the monster so he had left well enough alone. He reckoned she had a point, he'd had a lot of close calls recently. Still, this recurring dream was telling him something else.

When Zane woke with a start, he had all but kicked Miriam out of his house and gone up to his room to sketch the fishtail. He wasn't very good at drawing but this seemed to come natural to him. He thought he'd check with Cleo's dad to see if the fisherman recognized it. He knew the waters in town like the back of his hand. He ran to Cleo's house nearby and knocked on her door, hoping her father would be home. He had no idea what the hours of a fisherman were.

Cleo answered the door at let him in. She sounded surprised at his appearance but he supposed he'd be surprised if she just showed up at his front door. Once he had entered the main room, he saw Emma and Rikki were sitting in front of the coffee table with some weird chart in front of them. He thought it might have been about the moon cycle. They didn't have any assignment about the moon cycle in school, they didn't take astronomy. He briefly wondered what they were doing until he remembered he had more pressing matters to attend to. As he brought his eyes away from the chart, he glanced quickly at Rikki before turning back to Cleo.

"Is your dad home, I need to have a word?" Zane asked her.

"Um, yeah I think he's out back." Cleo said. "Let me go get him."

Zane nodded as Cleo walked out her back door. He was thankful the fisherman was here. It likely would have made for an awkward exit if he wasn't.

"We should head out," Emma said as she stood from the table and collected the chart. "Big night tonight."

Rikki stood and followed Emma to the door. Cleo re-entered with her father and then left with the other two girls.

Zane told the fisherman about his miraculous escape from the Lorelei wreck. He even showed Don the sketch of the tail he had drawn. Whether it was because Don didn't know what the creature was or he genuinely didn't believe Zane, Zane didn't know but he was upset when the older man asked him if he was hallucinating just like Rikki had before. Suddenly it hit him, he could prove it. Surely the sea creature left a dent on the door. If he could just remove the door and show Don and any other local fisherman that was willing to listen, maybe they could identify the creature or at least help Zane figure out what it was.

Don had surprisingly given Zane all the equipment he would need to remove the door. Zane recruited Nate to help him with the project. Less than an hour later, Zane dropped the banged up door at Don's feet. A crowd of fishermen had joined but no one seemed to have a clue what had made the dent. Not even after Zane had shown them his sketch and offered a hefty reward. Don had agreed to help Zane find what creature had made the dent.

The two were at Don's home pouring over a map all night. They discussed everything from mysterious shipwrecks to whirlpools that made no sense, marking them off on the map as they found them. Zane figured there must be a connection to all of these things. Finally, after staring at the map for hours, he noticed they all lead to Mako Island. Maybe there were answers there.

Zane thanked Don and ran to the dock to take his Zodiac out on a midnight spin. If he could get answers tonight, he would get them. He didn't have any time to waste. He could see the shadow of the dormant volcano under the light of the full moon. As he got closer, he noticed something bright and orange on the island along the coast. What the hell was that?

"Fire?" Zane muttered to himself as he observed the odd phenomenon. Why would there be a fire on Mako Island? It was a misty, luscious island, it wasn't prone to wild fires like the desert part of the country was. Someone had to have started it. Was someone trying to destroy the evidence he needed? Zane needed to find out.

As he entered the island, he saw nearly every tree was set ablaze. It didn't seem like a normal fire, it felt...magical? A normal fire would cause destruction but this one just seemed to exist, not trying to hurt anyone.

Zane went further and further into the forest until he found an opening in the trees. There was a large plot of ground with a girl sitting in the middle of it. What the hell?

"Hello?" Zane asked, hesitantly. He didn't know if this girl had started the fire or just got caught in the cross flames. She didn't respond to him when he spoke up.

"What's going on?" He tried again, taking a few steps closer to her. He wanted to see her face. Once he was beside her it was very clear to him who this girl was. He wasn't scared anymore. Then again, maybe he should have been.

"Rikki?"

Regardless of how Cleo and Emma had described it, Rikki could still feel a sane part of herself despite being moonstruck. The issue was, she couldn't get her brain or her body to act on whatever logical thought she came up with. She knew she was heating up and she wanted to cool down. She knew she shouldn't have gone into the kitchen, touching everything and causing explosion after explosion. She knew she shouldn't have left Emma's house and swam off. She was completely alone now. The moonstruck side of her wanted to be alone for forever but the logical side wanted to swim back to Emma's house and apologize. It was all too clear which side her body was going to follow.

She made the decision, for whatever reason, to come onto the shore of Mako rather than enter the moon pool. Something about the pool wasn't sitting right with her. She supposed if she wanted to hide from the girls, Mako was the worst place to do it. She'd be back to normal by sunup, maybe she wouldn't want to be alone then.

Rikki pulled herself out of the water and felt herself transform back to her human form mere seconds after her tail was removed from the sea. She must have been burning up. She decided to walk into the forest, hoping to find some solitude there. Her hand gently grazed one of the wild brushes and she saw it catch fire. This isn't what she wanted. She wanted to run away from all of this. She turned around to run from the fire but tripped on a large root. She felt the ground beneath her start to heat up and the dead leaves start to sizzle. She stood up again and it seemed every where she went, everything she touched caught on fire. She couldn't get away from it, she couldn't escape it.

"Stop!" She screamed once she was deeper in the forest. Almost like it was out of a movie, the fire moved away from her and formed a ring around the nearby trees and bushes. This was where she could be safe. Rikki took a seat on the ground, thankful it didn't burn beneath her. She pulled her knees up to her chest and simply sat in the burning forest.

Rikki had always felt like an outsider. Even before she was a mermaid, she was always the weird girl who was obsessed with motocross. She finally had some truly, great friends but even then, she wondered if they would have gotten along if they didn't have matching tails. She reckoned that was the only good thing about being a mermaid. She had to sacrifice so much to keep her mermaid identity a secret and that of Cleo and Emma as well. Tonight, more than any other, she wished she could go back in time and pull the girl stealing the spark plug away from the red Zodiac. She only did that to piss off the owner of said boat and look where that landed her.

"Hello?" She vaguely heard a voice from behind her. Speak of the devil. "What's going on?"

Rikki stayed still. Couldn't Zane tell she wanted to be left alone? What was he doing out here anyway? The logical part of her wanted to tell him to go away. Not only did she want to be alone, she didn't know what this moonstruck version of her would do to him. She wasn't very happy with Zane at the moment, not after the way he had dismissed her at the track earlier in the day. Her moonstruck part wanted him to come closer. He was already here, let's take care of him.

"Rikki?" Zane exclaimed as soon as he realized it was her. She'd have a fun time explaining her appearance in the middle of a fire to him later on. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Rikki started. "I just- I can't do this anymore."

"Can't do what?" Zane asked.

"This! Everything!" Rikki exclaimed. "It's too hard. No one understands."

Rikki knew she was talking gibberish. Maybe Emma, Cleo or even Lewis might have an idea of what she was talking about but to someone like Zane, she might as well have been speaking a different language.

"I know exactly how that feels." Rikki was surprised at his answer. How did Zane Bennett of all people understand her? Her logical side wanted to ask what he meant by that. Her moonstruck side ignored him.

"What happened here?" He asked, looking around this burning forest. "You're a mess."

Zane reached out and plucked a dead leaf from Rikki's hair. It must have ended up there when she fell on the ground. She finally took her eyes off her knees and looked into Zane's eyes. She didn't know what to do next but the moonstruck mermaid seemed to think this was the perfect time to make a move. This was the only person that could understand her. He'd listen to her problems and be here for her. Her logical side questioned every intention her moonstruck side was going with. This was Zane after all. He was moody beyond measure and Rikki never knew where she stood with him. Before she could question what was happening, Rikki found herself leaning in to kiss him and he wasn't stopping her.

Their lips touched and she was surprised at how much she enjoyed kissing Zane. It was hard to separate her moon struck feelings from her normal feelings. Was her moon side just a love struck girl? Did this coincide with her normal feelings? Rikki wasn't sure. Still, this was another instance where she knew she shouldn't have kissed him but she did it anyway. She knew she was burning up, she didn't know what that would do to Zane. His lips were still on hers but he was beginning to breathe harder and harder. She was dehydrating him. It didn't take long for him to pass out. Rikki stared at Zane's unconscious body for a few moments before she concluded there was nothing she could do to help him. She simply sat in the middle of the ring of fire she had just created around them and rested her head on her knees again.

Zane awoke the next morning in the forest of Mako Island. He was covered in water but still felt completely dehydrated. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so hot or thirsty. He looked to his right and saw a full water bottle sitting beside him. He supposed he should question the appearance of the bottle but he was far too parched to care. He chugged the water in seconds and felt a bit better. He needed to leave the island. He slowly walked to the shore where he saw his Zodiac was still held in place with the stake he had put in it last night. He jumped in the boat and took off towards the main land.

As he was riding back, Zane recalled the events of last night. He had been at the Setoris' home doing more research on his monster hunt. He found a connection to Mako Island and rode his Zodiac out to the small land. He found the forest was on fire and Rikki was sitting in the center of it. He wondered if this was all a fever dream. Maybe he had touched some weird brush or tree on his way into the island that made him hallucinate. He had kissed her, or rather, she kissed him. That felt too real to think the rest was a fever dream.

Once Zane had arrived home, he chugged another two bottles of water from his refrigerator and then went to his bathroom to take a cold shower. He caught his reflection in the mirror and saw his face was bright red. It looked like the worst sunburn he had ever had. As he undressed, he realized the burn wasn't limited to his face. It was practically all over his body.

The cold shower felt good on his hot skin. What the hell had happened to him last night? The burns on his skin was evidence something strange had happened. Sure, he'd been sunburnt before but it's not like you could get that burnt from the moonlight. Even if you could, it couldn't penetrate any clothing you had on. He couldn't explain it but he knew of one person that might be able to.

Once Zane had taken his shower, he grabbed another bottle of water and made his way to the JuiceNet. He guessed Rikki would either be there or at the track. He could use another water anyway and Henry wasn't too happy when he would take a water from the track without riding his bike.

As luck would have it, Zane found Rikki sitting at a table with Cleo. He finished his water and asked for a new one before he approached the blonde girl he had locked lips with last night.

"Rikki?" Zane said as he approached her. She had tried to hide herself with a large pair of sunglasses. "Why were you at Mako Island last night?"

"Was I?" She asked him as she removed her shades. How could she not remember what she was doing?

"Yeah, you were." Zane told her. "And something... really weird happened last night.

He wanted to say something wonderful rather than something weird. He didn't want to misspeak. Rikki's mood changed more often than his dad's girlfriends, maybe she wasn't interested in him now. He also didn't want to say too much with Cleo there.

"What I mean to say is...," he started. "That must have been one hell of a kiss because I can't remember anything that happened after it, can you?"

Maybe Rikki had passed out shortly after he did. She didn't look burnt at all so he doubted the same thing had happened to her. Nothing about the previous night made any sense. Rikki looked surprised when he had mentioned their kiss, like she couldn't remember it happening.

"Look, Zane what I do and why I do it, is none of your concern." Rikki shot at him.

"W-what about all that stuff you said?" Zane asked her.

"What I said is exactly that: stuff. Forget it, okay?" Rikki said. She was extremely sassy today.

Rikki was thankful when Zane walked away. She had a short conversation with Cleo about the night that had completely escaped her memory. Cleo had told her she caused the explosions they all later saw at Emma's house, left the home to go to Mako Island and found Rikki in a charred forest with an unconscious Zane beside her. Then it struck Rikki, what was Zane doing at Mako Island last night?

Rikki quickly excused herself from her table with Cleo to chase after Zane. He hadn't made it too far, he was still in earshot. She called his name and chased after him when she had his attention.

"What were you doing at Mako Island last night?" Rikki asked him this time.

Zane sighed before answering her. "I thought it might be connected to the sea creature somehow."

He was closer than he thought, Rikki thought to herself. In a way she was glad she was there. Who knows if he would have found the moon pool if she hadn't knocked him out?

"You're still searching for that thing?" Rikki asked.

"Yes," Zane said. "I intent to find it."

"Do you know how ridiculous you sound?" Rikki asked. "Zane Bennett, the sea creature hunter? You're chasing after something non-existent for all you know."

"It's real, Rikki." Zane told her. "By the way, since when do I have to ask your permission to do anything?"

Rikki ground her teeth together as she stared at the ground. He didn't need her permission to go anything but she wished he would stop his sea creature hunt. It was making her feel unsafe and uncomfortable.

"That's what I thought," Zane told her, taking her lack of response to say he was right. "Why do you care about it so much, anyway?"

"You're right, you don't need my permission." Rikki said, dodging his question. "See you."

With that, Rikki returned to her table with Cleo. A part of her wished she could tell Zane about her mermaid identity. Another part of her had no such desire. Zane was too up and down, hot and cold. Maybe one day he'd want to keep the secret and the next he would be announcing it in the JuiceNet.

"Let me guess," Cleo started as Rikki took her seat. "Motocross things?"

Rikki shook Zane's sea creature obsession. Cleo had mentioned motocross, that's what she needed to focus on. The next race would take place in a few weeks, Rikki needed to get back to training.

Chapter Text

Chapter 12: Rikki, Zane and the Penthouse Balcony

The second race of the city tournament was coming up in a few days, Zane should be training. Instead, he was stuck in a hotel wearing his monkey suit, helping his dad with yet another business function. This one was a seminar about investing money and his dad was running it. How ironic, the man who was born into a family of wealth telling all these people who didn't have money (at the least, not as much as them) how to spend it. As if Zane's Zodiac, jet ski and motorbike had been smart investments.

Zane reckoned Rikki and everyone else still in the tournament were probably training. He would be in the next heat with Rikki, Luke Williamson and Eric Morgan. Eric was a great racer who stood a solid chance at a victory of not only this heat, but the tournament. Luke was pretty good as well. He and Rikki won their first races but what worried Zane the most was he knew Luke was a good friend of Will's. He wondered if the two teamed up to try some evil cheat on Zane himself or Rikki.

Maybe Zane shouldn't bother with Rikki. He needed to distance himself from her as best as he could. He still had feelings for her but she didn't have feelings for him. But why would someone who didn't have feelings for him, kiss him? No, he couldn't think about that. It was best to just swear Rikki out of his life. She didn't seem too happy he was continuing his monster hunt anyway.

Zane swore his eyes had been deceiving him when he saw Rikki enter the hotel lobby with her face stuck in a pamphlet. He should leave her alone but he didn't know anyone else here and his curiosity got the best of him yet again.

"Rikki?" He asked. She looked up at him with a surprised look on her face, as if she hadn't excepted to see him here either. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" She repeated back to him.

"I asked you first." He said.

"I asked you first?" She repeated again. "How old are you, ten?"

She stole a page from his book with her response. He surely wouldn't get any answers from her. He knew Rikki well enough by now to know she wouldn't tell him anything unless she wanted to.

"I'm helping my dad with his investment seminar." Zane told her. "He's one of the speakers."

"I noticed." Rikki said, motioning to the pamphlet she held.

"He begged me to come along and play the dutiful son." Zane said. "It's totally boring."

"You're right there." She responded. She clearly didn't want to talk to him today.

"Well, it's been riveting." Rikki continued as she pushed past him and walked into one of the ballrooms.

As fate would have it, Zane ran into Rikki again right before the seminar's lunch. She told him she came with her dad and that he had forgotten to book them a spot so the restaurant was full. Harrison Bennett made a small appearance but his dad wasn't on his mind. Instead, he wondered just what Rikki had been up to. Nothing about these past few days had been making sense with her.

Out of the kindness and longing of his own heart, Zane invited Rikki up to the penthouse suite the hotel had given to his dad. It took some persuasion but she agreed. Following an awkward elevator ride up to the suite, he watched as she explored the large room. He grabbed his dad's notes and followed her until she stepped out on the large balcony. He couldn't go out there, it was far too high for him.

She was able to persuade him just as well as he had done to her moments ago. He didn't have to go near the edge, it was a large balcony. They could just stand out there for a while and then head back inside. He heard the sliding door close behind him. He didn't think anything of it until he heard a lock and a beep. He rushed back to the door only to find it was locked. Fantastic, he'd be lucky if his dad let him out of the house after this.

"Great," he muttered after several attempts at opening the door. "This is just perfect."

"You're the one who asked me up here." Rikki accused him. Zane rolled his eyes.

"Look, we're stuck, okay?" Zane said. She nodded as if he had stated the most obvious thing in the world. "Maybe we can quit arguing for just a few minutes?"

"Fine." Rikki agreed. She muttered some smart words about his dad and the seminar that would make a smarter man think she didn't want to agree to his terms. Zane left her to her own thoughts while he returned to the glass door to see if, by chance, his dad or a maid had come back to the suite.

They were on the balcony for several minutes before she made the suggestion to throw Harrison's notes off the balcony. That might get someone's attention. Still, Zane was hesitant to stand near the edge of the balcony. They were several stories up, if he managed to fall he certainly wouldn't survive. He was able to get himself closer and closer until finally he felt it was getting harder and harder to breathe. He stepped away from the edge and loosened his tie.

"What's wrong?" Rikki had asked him.

"Nothing." He responded.

"You're not going to turn into a vampire or something are you?" She asked.

"I..." he started. He needed to leave the balcony. "I never should have listened to you. What did you have to come out here for?"

"What?" She asked. He supposed he wasn't making any sense at all.

"Oh, are you scared of heights or something?" She guessed correctly. His lack of response must have told her all she needed to know. "It's okay, everyone's scared of something."

"Yeah?" Zane responded. "What are you scared of?"

Rikki simply nodded at him. He reckoned that was a dumb question. For one, acting invincible was a part of her demeanor and two, she was so secretive. If she didn't bring the subject up herself, she wasn't likely to tell you how she felt or what she thought. At least not recently or without the assistance of a lemon or strawberry sports drink.

"Here." She said as she grabbed his hand and lead him even closer to the edge.

"No," he told her. "No, I can't."

"Trust me, trust me." She said over and over again in the most soothing voice he had heard from her. It made him believe whatever she had planned would help him.

"Pretend I'm..." she started as he grabbed the railing of the balcony like his life depended on it. "Pretend I'm the new Suzuki bike."

"Suzuki?" Zane asked.

"What's wrong with it?" Rikki asked back.

"Nothing." Zane replied. "I've just always heard Yahmahas were better."

"Whatever." Rikki shook her head. "Prentend I'm a new Yahmaha bike or you're riding your bike. You know, taking first place at the city tournament and all. Just some memory that makes you happy."

A memory that made him happy. Zane supposed she wasn't too far off with her guess, he'd have to say the happiest and best memories he had consisted of him riding his bike. Maybe a few months ago he might have thought of his last city tournament win but now he could only think about racing a blonde girl, finally beating her to the finish line and sharing life stories on the hills of the track. It worked, his breath was starting to come back with ease.

"Feeling better?" She asked him with a smile.

"Yeah," Zane replied. "Thanks."

"Right," Rikki said. "Well, where's your dad? The seminar finished like half an hour ago?"

Zane shook his head and went back to the glass door to see if his dad had by chance entered the suite. It still looked just as barren as when they had left it. His dad was probably socializing with his colleagues, maybe bragging about how he had made it through the seminar without referencing his notes.

"I reckon this isn't how you had wanted to spend your day." Rikki said as she approached him. "Being stuck at a seminar."

"No," Zane said. "I reckon it's not how you wanted to spend yours either."

Rikki nodded her head at that. She looked like she was thinking about something before she spoke.

"I wasn't here with my dad." Rikki told him. "I was by myself. And the restaurant wasn't booked out either, I just didn't have enough money to buy lunch after I paid for the seminar."

Zane took a few steps closer to her. "You paid for it out of your own money?"

"You're not going to judge me for it?" Rikki asked. She looked quite surprised.

"No," Zane said. "No, I'm... I'm just surprised. I didn't think these seminars were your style."

"Well, they're not." She said as she turned around and walked aimlessly around the balcony. "It was a waste of money if you ask me."

"I could have told you that much." Zane laughed. "So why come?"

"Well as long as you're not judging me," Rikki started. "I just... I wanted to learn more about money, get some security. I'm sure you've figured out my family isn't nearly as well off as yours is. I don't want to be like my family when I'm older. Unhappy, angry."

"Trust me," Zane stepped up to her, grabbing her hand. In part he wanted to keep her still. He also wanted to offer her any comfort he could. He was reminded of the night she came to the track with tears streaming down her face. She had only been in town for a few days, he doubted she could have had any drama with friends that would have caused her to be that upset. It must have come from her family.

"Money doesn't change anything." Zane continued. "I mean... look at me and my dad. It's- it's been a mess ever since my mum left and I just don't know if my old man likes me very much, you know."

"I know the feeling." Rikki told him with a sigh. "It's funny, I always thought you were so lucky."

"Me?" Zane said with a chuckle and dropped her hands. "I'd be looking more to your friends if you wanted someone to be jealous of."

"Fair enough," Rikki replied.

"You're so hard to figure out, you know." Zane told her, changing the subject. She was so approachable now, her unbreakable guard was down. He didn't know when she would put it back up though and release all of her soldiers upon him.

"I could say the same about you." Rikki said, giving him an odd look and crossing her arms. Her guard was going back up.

"That's fair." Zane replied. He wasn't an open book himself either. "It's just... we've had some really good and really bad times together. It's just hard to know where I stand with you."

"Well..." Rikki started, seemingly wracking her brain. "Where do you want to stand?"

"Honestly?" Zane asked her. She nodded her head when she sensed he was hesitating. He was about to respond when he saw her look behind him and furrow her eyebrows. He turned around just in time to see his dad whip the door open.

"What's the matter with you, Zane?" He started already. "I wait all afternoon for my notes, you don't turn up at the seminar and the hotel staff hand me these." He held up the notes Zane and Rikki had been tossing off the balcony earlier that day.

"We were trying to get someone's attention." Zane said as he re-entered the suite and held the door for Rikki to enter as well.

"By ruining my notes!" Harrison said as he threw the papers on a nearby table.

"It wasn't like that." Rikki had tried. Zane knew that wouldn't end well.

"I wasn't talking to you and don't lie." Harrison told her before turning his attention back to his son. Zane could feel his blood boiling. "Honestly if you have to spend time with a girl, at least pick one with a future. Like one of those down at the seminar."

"Her name is Rikki!" Zane shouted, feeling his temper get away from him. "And she was one of the girls at the seminar, only smarter. She didn't fall for it. By the way, I'm not your errand boy so stop treating me like one!"

Zane didn't know where that last part had come from. Maybe he finally snapped, he figured it would happen some day. Maybe it had something to do with Rikki's presence. He didn't want her to think he couldn't stand up for himself.

"I'd like to say it was nice to meet you," Rikki told Harrison as she walked past Zane. "But that would be a lie."

Rikki confidently marched out of the room. Zane smiled after her. He reckoned a smile was the last thing his father would want to see from him after an interaction like that but he couldn't help it. Rikki was perfect in nearly every way.

Once Rikki had left the room, Harrison looked back at his son. He shook his head and simply scoffed before leaving the main room. Zane was left alone in the room. A part of him wished he had been able to finish his conversation on the balcony with Rikki. Another part, a cowardly part, was glad he was interrupted. What if his fears were confirmed and she didn't feel the same way about him? It could wreck their relationship if he did make a move.

Zane was going to follow his father into a bedroom and ask if they could leave but he noticed a small, red purse on the counter. It had to belong to Rikki, unless his dad had brought a girl up before the seminar. It wasn't completely unlikely but the style of the leather purse screamed Rikki. Zane grabbed the purse and took off to the elevators.

Rikki had just stepped in one when he had chased her down. He called her name and stuck his hand in between the closing doors just in time. She looked at him with a hopeful look in her eyes, like she was glad he had come to see her.

"You left this." He told her as he handed her her purse.

"Thanks." She said quietly, staring at the floor of the elevator once she took it.

The doors started to close again once Zane had stepped away. They were nearly closed when he thought of the hopeful look he had just seen in her eyes. A surge of confidence ran through him he didn't know existed. He put his hand in between the doors again and stepped in between the doors so they wouldn't close. She gave him a confused look but he detected there was a hint of a smile.

"You wanted to know where I stood with you," Zane started. "Or where I'd like to stand."

"Yes." Rikki said quietly, nodding her head in case he hadn't heard.

Zane reached for her free hand which she grabbed. He gently pulled her closer to him until there was almost no space between their bodies. He let her hand go and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. She smiled and bit her bottom lip before he closed the gap between them. His lips gently touched hers and he thankfully didn't feel as hot as before, nor did he pass out. That would be quite the barrier to work around if he did pass out every time they kissed. Then again, for all he knew, this could be their last kiss.

He slowly backed away after a few seconds. He couldn't have moved more than a few centimeters away from her when she pulled him back in for a few seconds more. He wished he could stay on the elevator with her and kiss her for forever. Kisses with Miriam or any other girl he had been with couldn't compare for whatever reason. She had reached up to kiss him too, that had to be a good sign.

Zane stepped out of the elevator once they were both sure the kiss was over. He did need to return to the suite as much as he wanted to run off with Rikki now and talk about what this meant.

"That's where I'd like to stand."

Chapter Text

Chapter 13: Rikki's Epic Wipeout

Rikki hadn't spoken to Zane since their kiss on the elevator. She was glad he had made a move, she certainly wasn't going to do it. She felt bold just asking him where he would like to stand with her. She reckoned it was clear he might be looking for something more than friendship but she wondered if that was a good idea. He was hunting her and she knew Cleo and Emma would kill her if she told Zane their secret. Rikki was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Life would be a lot simpler if she wasn't a mermaid but much more boring. Not to mention, Zane would likely be dead two times over now if she and the girls had not transformed that one fateful night.

Today was the day of the next race of the city tournament. Rikki rolled out of her bed to get ready for the day. She caught sight of the pamphlet her mum had sent her about the seminar. Usually Rikki just threw away any mail she received from her mum, she didn't care to know what the cold woman was up to. This one, however, didn't look like it had come from her mum. Rikki was upset when she did open it and realized what it was. The pamphlet ate away at Rikki and she ended up convincing herself to go to the seminar. She had regretted it up until she stepped out on the balcony.

Rikki started the tap in her bathroom and took a quick bath before she got dressed and headed to the track. She prepared herself as she was sure she was going to run into Zane here. She wondered if he would just assume they were dating and she'd have to begrudgingly correct him. She wondered if he had been joking and didn't want anything to do with her. She found both of their stalls were void of people but still contained their bikes. He must be running late. She checked hers over before she took off toward the other track. She hopped off to walk the bike into the inspection area when she heard someone call her name. She turned around to of course see Zane running toward her with his own bike.

"Okay, so when?" He started once they were walking side by side.

"When what?" She asked him.

"When are we going to go out?" Zane asked.

Rikki sighed. "You want to talk about this today?"

"Of course, it's important." Zane said. "High stakes, really."

"High stakes?" Rikki asked back. "How so?"

"Well, I just figured a lot of people have a lot riding on this." Zane shrugged.

"A lot of people?" Rikki repeated again. "Like who?"

"Your friends for one," Zane said. "How are they going to tell you that I'm no good for you if you won't go out with me? And what about my mates? They're just waiting for the chance to hassle me about hanging with the motocross chick."

"Wow," Rikki started. "You have friends?"

"Rikki," Zane chastised her. She simply laughed in response. It was a good comeback, someone had to laugh. "You might be saying no today but when we kissed, your lips, they were saying yes."

"Look, Zane." Rikki said as she kicked her stand on her bike and left it to be inspected. "Why do we have to talk about this today? In case you haven't noticed, we have a big race."

"I know," Zane said. "If not now then when?"

"Hey, lovebirds." They were interrupted by an annoying voice that had called them that before. "Trouble in paradise?"

"What are you doing here, Will?" Zane asked his rival.

"I can't come and support my friends?" Will asked. "You know Luke had a pretty good shot at taking the title this year. You're going soft, Bennett."

"I've told you before," Zane started. "It's not me you have to look out for."

Zane glanced down at Rikki and then back to Will. She felt Will's eyes on her and she turned around to face him. He laughed at her yet again. When would the boy learn?

"Her?" Will said in between his laughs.

"I've beat you once before, haven't I?" Rikki asked. "What makes you think I can't beat your friend?"

"Hey, that was just luck." Will told her. "Luck has to run out sometime."

"Fair enough," Rikki said. "May the better man win, then."

"The key word in your sentence being 'man', babe." Will told her before he walked off into the stands.

"You all right?" Zane asked her once the other boy had left.

"Fine." Rikki replied. "Nothing I'm not used to. Come on, the race is about to start."

Unlike the first round of races, they would have their race at the beginning of the day rather than the end of the day. The pair as well as their competitors made their way to the starting line. Rikki noticed the crowds consisted of more girls and women than it did for her first race. She had heard her name over the speaker a few times already today, she had to be the talk of the event. It was weird, she had never received this kind of attention in races before. Zane, Luke and Eric got decent rounds of applause when their names were called but that noise could be drowned out by the screams and cheers when Rikki's name was announced. She smiled to herself but knew she had to focus on the race.

The whistle was blown and she took off, trying to keep up with the boys. For the start, this race was much more difficult. Zane took the early lead but she and who she guessed was Luke didn't fall too far behind him. Even Eric was far from the pack. It would be a tight race.

Rikki took the inside track behind Zane as she usually did. She felt a hard shove on her right that threw her off balance and allowed Eric to pass her. She figured Luke had been the one to shove her. She stayed on her bike and caught up to Luke again at a jump. She guessed Zane was going to win this race, she and Luke were going to be in a battle for second. That was fine with Rikki, as long as she advanced.

She had barely passed Luke when she felt pressure on her back tire. She turned around to see Luke hovering over it. She went to kick him off with her back tire but he kept pushing into her more and more. Rikki realized she'd have to think quick or else she wasn't going to finish this race. The only thing she could think to do was to go faster than him. She sped up and was surprised when he backed off the speed. She looked ahead to see a sharp turn was coming up. Just past the turn was a ditch that she would go flying into if she didn't hit her brakes. She was going too fast, she wasn't going to make it. She didn't have time to slow down or even hit her brakes and just come to a complete halt. She caught air, flying into the ditch. She let go of her bike and tried to turn herself so she could land on her side. The last thing she could remember was looking straight down into a pile of dirt and rocks.

Zane had spent the whole race with no one in front of him. He supposed Rikki was right behind him, she and Luke had been when he last checked. He hoped she could shake him off, it would be great if the two of them advanced to the final round of the race. Henry's was the only track that could hold ten racers at once and they always had the finals there. They would have a home field advantage if anything.

The second races were usually the toughest, Zane didn't have time to check his rear, he needed to focus on what was in front of him. He was having a good race, he couldn't deny it. When he was close to the finish line, just past a sharp turn, he heard the crowd gasp. He briefly wondered if something went wrong but he couldn't focus on that or the announcer. He needed to finish the race unless an official told him not to.

Zane finally crossed the finish line and brought his bike to a halt. He turned around expecting to see Rikki following him but instead it was Luke, followed closely by Eric. The crowd had gone silent and Zane knew something was very wrong. He couldn't see Rikki. There were a few hills she might still be behind but he did see several paramedics running into a ditch by the stands. Luke had taken his helmet off and was going to approach Zane, likely to talk some smack but Zane pushed past him as he ran over to the ditch with the paramedics, hoping by some miracle, a spectator or someone working the event had been hurt, not Rikki. He didn't think he'd get lucky enough for a miracle.

Rikki was laying unconscious in the ditch. The paramedics had removed her helmet, which was spilt down the middle. She must have hit her head hard for something like that to happen. Her bike was a few feet away from her. Zane wasn't an expert in the mechanics of a motorbike but he had an awful feeling she wouldn't be able to ride it any longer.

The paramedics loaded her onto a stretcher and took her to a nearby ambulance. Zane had briefly registered the ambulance at all of his races but he had never seen it in use until about now. He kept his distance but followed the stretcher to the emergency vehicle. It never occurred to him he couldn't simply hop in with the rest of the paramedics as if this was his own car.

"Zane!" He heard his name from behind him. In a way he felt like he was in a fog, he barely registered it. It was Henry running toward him.

"Do you know if her parents came to the race?" Henry asked him.

"Um no." Zane replied. "No I don't- I don't know."

His mouth felt dry and he felt like any thoughts or responses needed out of him would only come at the pace of a sloth. Henry had run away from him at his response. He saw Cleo, Emma and Lewis running in their direction next. He assumed Henry asked the gang the same question he had asked Zane. They didn't seem to know the answer either.

"Zane!" He heard Henry say his name again a few moments later. "Are you coming, boy?"

"Coming?" Zane asked.

"To the hospital." Henry replied. "I figured you'd want to come with us but-"

"Yes, sorry." Zane said as he shook his head and walked with the others to Henry's truck. They followed the ambulance and sat in the waiting room. Zane felt a bit out of place. He wasn't on the friendliest of terms with Cleo, Emma or Lewis and he didn't want to hang around with Henry. The older man seemed to be pretty busy anyway. He was making calls left and right, seemingly playing a fatherly role for Rikki. Zane wondered where her own dad was. He would want to know if his child got hurt. Then again, Zane wondered if his own father would come to the emergency room if their roles had been reversed. He settled for a seat on his own while he twiddled his thumbs, hoping Rikki would be okay.

Rikki woke up to a bright light in front of her face. It was far too bright for her to bare. She lifted her right hand to find it had been covered in a bandage. She took in her surroundings and quickly figured out she was in a hospital room. How did this happen? She had been racing when... oh, right. Luke threw her off her bike. She must have been hurt pretty badly if she was in the hospital.

As she continued to take in her surroundings, she found she wasn't alone. There was a dark haired boy sitting in the corner of her room, still dressed head to toe in his motocross gear. She wondered why Zane was the only one here. Did no one else come for her? She thought Cleo, Emma and Lewis would be here. What about her own father? He was probably busy at work.

"Hey," she croaked out. Her voice was rusty but Zane perked up like a dog to a dog whistle at her voice.

"Hey," Zane said. "How are you feeling?"

"Dizzy." She answered honestly. It felt like the room was spinning.

Zane snorted. "I suppose that's to be expected."

"What happened?" Rikki asked.

"You have a concussion." Zane told her. "And you fractured your wrist."

"Damn it." She muttered. The concussion explained why the room was spinning. "What about the race?"

"Rikki-" Zane started.

"Did you win?" Rikki cut him off.

Zane laughed again. "Funny, you end up in the emergency room and you're still worried about the race."

"Of course I am." Rikki told him.

"Yeah, I won." Zane told her.

"Good." Rikki said. "As long as that asshole Luke didn't win."

"Speaking of which, Henry's at the track right now trying to dispute the results." Zane said. "He doesn't think he'll be able to get you a spot back in the tournament but he's trying to disqualify Luke."

"That would be good." Rikki said. "So it's just you here then?"

"No," Zane replied. "Cleo, Emma and Lewis are at the food court. I volunteered to stay with you for now and then I'll go get some food."

"You guys don't have to stay for me." Rikki said. "I'll be fine on my own."

"Well we can't exactly leave until Henry gets back so I guess you're stuck with us for now." Zane said.

Rikki laughed. "Fine. What about my dad?"

"I don't know, honestly." Zane said. "I think Henry's been trying to get a hold of him but he hasn't heard anything yet."

Rikki scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Figures."

"You're not surprised?" Zane asked.

"Not really, no." Rikki replied. "My dad's the worst. You know he forgets my birthday every year."

"That's nothing," Zane said. "My dad took me on holiday to the South Pacific."

"What's so bad about that?" Rikki asked.

"He left me there." Zane said. "I was ten, I had to catch a plan back all by myself."

"Well I guess that's just as bad as this, if not worse." Rikki said. "We could start a club."

Zane laughed at her. "Yeah, maybe we should."

Before either could say anything else, Cleo, Emma and Lewis all barged in to Rikki's room with their leftover food from the court. They were thrilled to see Rikki was awake and well. Zane did feel a bit ostracized around the friend group so he went to the food court to grab something to eat. He hadn't eaten all day and found he wasn't too hungry once he sat down. He was now certain the monster that saved him from Ms. Chatham's wreck and Rikki's unconscious body in the ditch were going to haunt his dreams tonight.

The hospital decided to keep Rikki over night to make sure she was recovering normally. If she slept well tonight, they'd release her in the morning. Zane supposed that was good news. This could have been much worse. Henry returned to the hospital with no real updates, only that the officials were considering Luke's ejection. Cleo, Emma and Lewis had been picked up by their parents. Zane didn't think his dad would want to come get him from the hospital so he chose to catch a ride with Henry. It was a pretty quiet ride, Zane simply looked out the window of Henry's truck.

"You like her, don't you?" The older man asked him.

"What do you mean?" Zane asked. He did but he wasn't ready to profess his love for Rikki off the rooftops.

"Rikki," Henry said. "I see the way you two are around each other. I see the way you look at her. I see how she's made you grow up."

Zane smiled to himself. "Yeah, I guess she has."

Henry nodded and then turned his attention back out to the road.

"We've...kissed and all that." Zane said. "I asked her out today before the race but she didn't want to talk about it."

"Of course she didn't," Henry said. "Bad timing. You could always try again, maybe when she's not concussed."

"I guess you're right." Zane said.

They had reached Zane's house once the words had left his mouth. A part of Zane wanted to stay with Henry and ask him for some more advice on how to handle his situation with Rikki. His dad probably wouldn't give him advice and even if he would, Zane didn't want it. He couldn't treat Rikki as just a fling.

Zane stepped out of the car and turned back to Henry before he left.

"Thanks, Henry." Zane said. "For everything."

Henry nodded as he drove away. Zane watched his truck leave until he couldn't see it anymore. He turned around and entered his home. It was only mid-afternoon but it felt like one of the longest days of his life. Zane shed his pads and then flopped on his bed before he fell asleep, hoping his two demons would let him get a few hours of rest before they woke him.

AN: Hey guys! I think you might know the drill by now, another race, another bracket update!

2nd Round (Results)

Bold Designates Winners/Advancing Racers

Race 1:

Zane Bennett (1st Seed from Henry's Track), Luke Williamson (1st Seed from Track 1), Eric Morgan (1st Seed from Track 3), Rikki Chadwick (10th Seed from Henry's Track)

Race 2:

2nd Seed from Track 3, Nate Campbell (2nd Seed from Henry's Track), 2nd Seed from Track 2, 2nd Seed from Track 1

Race 3:

3rd Seed from Track 3, Noah Cook (3rd Seed from Henry's Track), 3rd Seed from Track 1, 3rd Seed from Track 2

Race 4:

4th Seed from Track 3, 7th Seed from Track 3, 4th Seed from Henry's Track, 4th Seed from Track 1

Race 5:

5th Seed from Track 1, 5th Seed from Track 2, 5th Seed from Henry's Track, 6th Seed from Henry's Track

Final Race (Winner Takes All):

Zane Bennett (1st Seed from Henry's Track)

Luke Williamson (1st Seed from Track 1)

2nd Seed from Track 3

Nate Campbell (2nd Seed from Henry's Track)

3rd Seed from Track 1

3rd Seed from Track 2

4th Seed from Track 3

4th Seed from Henry's Track

5th Seed from Henry's Track

6th Seed from Henry's Track

Chapter Text

Chapter 14: Zane Bennett, The Boy Who Cried Mermaid

Zane woke up with a start yet again. He had dreamed he was saved by the sea creature but the creature had tossed him on a deserted land with Rikki's unconscious form. He desperately tried to wake her up to no avail. He reckoned he was muttering Rikki's name in his sleep and was thankful he slept in his own room on the opposite side of the house from his father.

Zane knew Rikki didn't like him perusing the sea creature hunt but he was losing his sleep and his sanity. Whatever it was that saved him, he needed answers or else he was sure it was only a matter of time before he ended up locked in a mental facility. He sprung out of his bed and got ready for the day before heading to the JuiceNet to do some research. The shipwreck lead he had worked on with Cleo's dad had been a dead end. He'd have to start over, he just didn't know where.

As Zane was walking to the JuiceNet, he began to think of places he could start. Maybe Ms. Chatham was a good place. She was the owner of the boat and she wasn't exactly normal. Maybe she had some connection to a sea creature. Maybe she was the one who sent the creature after him.

Zane had just sat down at a computer when he saw an ad for a Suzuki bike. He was reminded of Rikki mentioning she liked that bike on the balcony. Henry had confirmed her bike was no longer functional from the accident. Zane hadn't been there when Henry had broken the news but he heard Rikki hadn't taken it well. Zane had offered to share his bike with her. She was probably riding it at the track now. Still, it wouldn't be a permanent replacement, she would need a bike of her own eventually. The Suzuki model wasn't as expensive as he thought it was going to be. Zane shuffled that thought to the back of his mind for another time.

Zane had just searched Ms. Chatham's name when Lewis had approached him. Zane looked up to Lewis, wondering what the boy wanted. Then again, Lewis had been there when the boat sank. Maybe he knew something about her.

"What do you know about that old Chatham woman?" Zane asked Lewis.

"Nothing," Lewis responded. "No one does. Why-why are you googling her name?"

"Lewis, the day I tell you my business is the day I care what you think." Zane told him.

"Zane, right now everyone just thinks you're an annoying, spoiled, selfish little rich kid." Lewis told him. Zane smiled along, insults from Lewis were nothing new. "Let us not add stalker to the list."

Lewis left a moment later to go get the juice he had ordered leaving Zane alone to do more research on Ms. Chatham. He found several things about her personal life from items she collected to living on the boat she had purchased with her husband. Nothing stuck out until he found a clip from the 50's detailing an ocean rescue. As he played the video, a man came on the screen. He told the reporter how he had been out on his boat when it started sinking.

"I thought you were looking up Ms. Chatham." Lewis said to him when he returned to Zane's side. For someone who didn't seem to care what Zane was doing, Lewis was sure sticking close to him.

"I am," Zane said. "This came up, a news reel from the 50's."

"Ah," Lewis exclaimed. "Any excuse to get back to your monster hunting- this is a hoax."

Zane scoffed. "For your information there were other witnesses to this guy's story."

"Zane," Lewis tried again. "It was the 50's. Reds under the beds, people imagining there were communist subs everywhere. All kinds of-"

"Back off, okay?" Zane cut Lewis off. He needed to pay attention to this story.

"Hey, Zane." Miriam approached him. Did he miss something? Was today annoy Zane day? "What are you doing?"

"Busy." He replied shortly.

Miriam went on, something about belly button rings, but Zane needed to pay attention to this video. Not to mention, he wasn't at all interested in Miriam anymore, Rikki had his eye now. The video went on to say the fisherman was saved by a teenage Ms. Chatham. She had put off any praise and just said she found him in the surf, dragged him to shore and didn't see any creatures out in the ocean. Then came the most important and telling part of the interview. The fisherman and drawn a sketch of the monster he saw that was identical to Zane's drawing from a few weeks ago.

"It's her, isn't it?" Zane said.

"What?" Lewis claimed.

"Ms. Chatham."

"Uh, no?"

"That's her." Zane repeated. "I'm on to something, Lewis. This is big."

Zane left Lewis and Miriam behind in the cafe and ran outside. He needed to talk to Ms. Chatham, she knew something about the sea creature. The only problem was, he didn't know where to find her. The boat was at the bottom of the ocean, she wasn't living there anymore. Maybe Emma would know where she was. He didn't know if Emma would be willing to give him any information on Ms. Chatham but he couldn't think of anything else to do. Zane stuffed the drawing of the fish tail in his pocket and went straight to the Gilberts' home.

Rikki wanted to burst out in giggles when Cleo had removed the towel from Emma's head. In a fit of spontaneity, Emma decided to dye her hair and Cleo had seemingly bought the wrong color hair dye. Now Emma was stuck in her mermaid form, a head full of bright red hair. Her appearance screamed Little Mermaid.

Cleo had handed the a brush and hair dryer to Rikki, saying she was running late for work. What was Rikki supposed to do? She was a tomboy, she didn't do all this hair and makeup stuff. What if Emma's hair didn't dry lighter? Was she just supposed to tell her friend it looked okay when it didn't? Rikki was on Cleo's heels until Cleo opened Emma's front door to see Zane right in front of them. She pushed past him and Rikki immediately felt herself smile. Zane smiled back at her and she briefly wondered if he had come to see her and beg her to go out with him. She had considered it and she thought she might give the boy a chance if he asked again.

"Um, I'm actually here to see Emma." Zane said. Rikki's smile dropped slightly. "I need to speak to her urgently."

"You can't." Was all Rikki could manage to say. She didn't want to slip loose to Zane her friend had dyed her hair the same color as Ronald McDonald.

"She's not home?" Zane asked.

"Well, yes she is but-" Rikki made out before Zane pushed past her and started to walk up the stairs. Rikki called after him, trying to get him to stop but he seemed to be on a mission. Rikki knew him well enough now to know when he wanted something he wasn't going to stop his pursuit.

Rikki flung herself in front of the bathroom door so Zane wouldn't be able to enter. She doubted he would walk in on Emma in the bathroom anyway but she needed to make sure he didn't see her friend in her mermaid form. Emma finally opened the door and Rikki was surprised to see her hair had changed back to it's normal, golden, blonde.

Zane and Emma walked downstairs but Rikki stayed behind. What did Zane want with Emma? Rikki doubted this had anything to do with school. Rikki knew the pair had known each other basically all of their lives. Was he feeling sentimental? She really had no clue.

Rikki took a seat on Emma's staircase and listened in to their conversation. Rikki was disappointed to hear Zane was still continuing his sea creature hunt. It sounded like he was getting close too. He had correctly connected Ms. Chatham to the creature. Rikki wasn't too surprised. For a woman who harped on the girls so much about keeping all of this a secret, she didn't act like she wasn't odd herself. Emma eventually told Zane off and he stormed out of the house. After a brief discussion with Emma about Zane's findings, Rikki and Emma simply hung out around the house for the day. Neither girls fancied a swim that much and as much as Rikki wanted to go to the track, she didn't have a bike anymore. Zane had offered her use of his but she didn't want to use it unless she absolutely had to. Besides, he was still in the city tournament. She didn't want to be selfish and take away any training time from him.

Cleo burst through the door a few hours later with Lewis in tow as usual. Rikki and Emma were confused at their sudden appearance, they thought Cleo still had a few hours left on her shift. Her appearance explained itself when she told them she had seen Zane at the park harassing Ms. Chatham. She wouldn't give him any information so he decided to go out to the boat on his own.

"Okay and?" Rikki said. "What's he going to find out there?"

"There's a photo." Cleo replied.

"Well wouldn't the sea water-" Rikki started.

"It's in an old metal chest." Cleo said.

"That doesn't mean he's going to be able to open it." Rikki said.

"Do we really want to take that chance?" Emma asked Rikki.

"What's the photo of?" Lewis asked. Finally, some important questions.

"Three girls." Cleo said. "Ms. Chatham and her friends."

"So it proved she had friends?" Rikki asked.

"With tails." Cleo said. "It's the same as the one in Ms. Chatham's locket, only bigger."

"Oh no," Emma sighed. "This is bad."

Rikki was suddenly hit with an idea. How badly did Zane want to go out with her? She knew he liked her, would he like her enough to call off this hunt? Could she convince him to do so? Truth be told, she wouldn't mind going out with him regardless of the hunt.

"Look, I have stuff to do." Rikki said, making her exit. "Bye and good luck."

Rikki knew they would think her exit was suspicious but she didn't care. Her friends wouldn't believe her if she told them she might have a way to stop Zane's monster hunt. Emma had blown her off when Rikki had suggested she talk to him earlier in the day. Rikki was sure Emma and the others had no clue Zane was wanting to date her. They probably didn't think they had any relationship outside of motocross.

Rikki had mixed feelings about the possibility. It was Zane after all, the guy who pushed Cleo out to sea and severed them prune juice at the JuiceNet once. She would never date that guy, but she had since learned the obnoxious stuff was an act. He simply tried to keep people away in fear of getting hurt. She could relate to that. When she pulled back the veil that night on the tracks, she was surprised to find he was kind, caring and sweet. She wouldn't mind dating that guy. In fact, she might say she had a crush on that guy.

Rikki walked out of Emma's house, making her way to the JuiceNet. She hoped he was there, she wouldn't know where else to look aside from the track. As luck would have it, she found him at a table with Nate and approached him while he was leaving.

"You want to know why I won't go out with you?" She asked him. He shook his head in response. "Because you're obsessed. This sea monster thing is nuts."

"Okay, thanks for sharing." He muttered as he pushed past her. She knew she'd have to try harder. She needed to stop him.

"I mean it." She tried. "Drop it and maybe we can talk."

"Yeah?" Zane asked. "When?"

She was ready to answer him. She would talk to him right then if he wanted. Rikki found she genuinely wanted to date him but she didn't know if she could if he continued hunting them.

"Are we going?" Nate asked as he re-entered the cafe. He sounded annoyed. Rikki guessed Nate didn't really want to help Zane with the hunt.

"Yeah." Zane replied as if Rikki hadn't asked him anything. "Look, I've got to see this thing through, I'm sorry. I'll see you later."

Rikki shook her head at him as he let her know where his priorities lay. It was the monster and then her. She supposed she was hoping for a miracle, Zane had been after this creature since he had asked her to stay with him on the track after Ms. Chatham's boat sank. Still, Rikki knew she couldn't be in a relationship where she came second to what everyone else thought was a figment of Zane's imagination.

Zane took Nate out to Mako Island. He was annoyed the Zodiac wouldn't start but Nate was able to fix it. Nate had been working on boats and jet skis for so long, Zane was surprised his friend took any liking to motocross. Some people might have thought he was crazy or that he was mistaken but Zane knew exactly where the boat had sunk. The last image he remembered seeing before he was submerged was of Mako Island. They didn't have to jump in the water to check, he knew the boat couldn't be too far.

Zane hoped this was a solid lead. He wouldn't know where else to look if this didn't go anywhere. Maybe he could see if that man in the newsreel was still alive and ask him about it. Maybe he could see if anyone else was saved by a monster nearby. He needed to find answers to whatever this was.

Nate had been whining about sharks since the boys were back at the JuiceNet. Zane himself had been submerged helpless in shark infested waters and somehow made it out alive, they could do it again. Zane was in his scuba gear before Nate was and Zane had a feeling his friend was stalling. Eventually, Nate couldn't stall anymore and the two friends jumped into the water.

As the bubbles cleared, Zane located the old, sunken boat on the sea floor nearby. He let himself sink further into the water until he felt Nate shake his arm and point to the open sea. Zane wondered what his friend wanted. Nate gave him the signal to go up and back to the surface while Zane gave the signal to continue their dive. Nate ignored him and swam back to the surface. Zane shook his head at his friend's cowardice and continued to descend until he saw it. It swam out of Ms. Chatham's boat with it's long, orange, scaly tail, the same one he saw when he was trapped in said boat. It was lead by a human body with a bandeau top and a mass of red hair. Zane knew what he was seeing but never thought they had existed. It gave a good few kicks in the water before it took off, faster than lightning.

Zane was gasping for breath when he came to the surface moments later. Nate looked concerned as he reached for his friend.

"You all right, mate?" Nate asked him as he helped Zane board the Zodiac. Zane was still trying to catch his breath.

"I know what it is." Zane said. "The sea creature, I know what it is."

"What is it?" Nate asked.

"A mermaid." Zane replied.

"A mermaid?" Nate repeated. "Zane, mermaids don't exist."

"Why did I just see one then?" Zane challenged him. "Come on, let's get back to the juice bar."

"Zane," Nate tried again. "Maybe you should just-"

"I know what I saw, Nate." Zane told him. "I don't care if you believe me, I'm sure someone will."

Rikki met back up with Emma and Cleo after Cleo got off of work. They admired the photos from Ms. Chatham's boat in Emma's room before they decided to go to the JuiceNet. They had been holed up in Emma's house all day, they needed to get out. When they entered the cafe, Rikki was surprised to see almost everyone was surrounding Zane who stood at the center of the cafe.

"I'm telling you this was more than just a shape or a shadow." Zane started. "I saw her with my own eyes; a mermaid."

The three girls shared concerned looks while trying to be as discrete as possible. Everyone else in the cafe was laughing, that had to be a good sign.

"This mass of red hair followed by this long tail, Nate?" Zane said, leaning to his best mate at the last part of the sentence as if to confirm Nate saw the creature too.

"What?" Nate said. "You're asking me?"

"I'm going back out there." Zane said, turning his attention back to his audience. "There is a mermaid out there and I'm going to find her. Who's coming?"

The crowd was silent until Emma spoke up.

"A mermaid?" She said. "Have you gone completely insane?"

"Well, he saw something out there because when he came out of the water, he looked like a scared little boy." Nate said.

"Nate," Zane said to his friend. "Do me a favor and don't help."

"So this mermaid," Emma started again. "What did she look like?"

"She had red hair." Zane said again.

"Was she cute?" Miriam asked.

"I didn't see her face." Zane replied.

"Old? Young?" Cleo asked.

"I don't know," Zane replied. "But I told you there's something off about that old woman."

"Ms. Chatham has grey hair, Zane." Emma said. "She's not your mermaid."

"Okay, maybe not but she's somehow connected." Zane replied.

"What about you Nate?" Emma asked. "What exactly did you see?"

"Nothing, I was on the surface by then." Nate replied.

"Zane, I think the oxygen got cut off to your brain." Emma said before walking off to a booth.

Rikki felt bad for Zane. Yes, what he said was completely ridiculous but she knew what he saw was real, so did Emma, Cleo and Lewis. She knew Emma wasn't putting on an act when she spoke to Zane. That alone made Rikki not want to be around the three of them. They didn't know Zane like she did. Still, a part of her knew she needed to keep all this mermaid stuff a secret from him. She didn't trust him that much quite yet. He had gotten much closer to their secret in one day than she had anticipated. She needed to throw him off his scent. She needed to put an end to this hunt and she knew just the way to do it.

"Zane!" She yelled after him as he exited the cafe. "Zane, wait!"

"What, do you want to humiliate me some more?" Zane asked.

"No audience, no point." Rikki quipped.

"Oh, that's very big of you." Zane told her.

"I want to go out with you." Rikki said. She knew that would stop him in his tracks. "But the mermaid talk stops."

Zane licked his lips and looked down to the ground and back up at her. She could tell he was weighing his options.

"Look, I like you." Rikki continued. "Don't ask me why because I have no idea, but I do."

"No mermaids?" He asked her.

"That's the deal." She said. "Take it or leave it."

Zane gave her a crooked smile. "Okay, no mermaids."

Rikki smiled back at him and took his outstretched hand as walked with him out to the beach. She didn't think this was how she would end up dating Zane Bennett but she could think of worse things.

The agency was going down. They needed to sign someone big, someone they had never seen in motocross before. Jack Wilson didn't know what that would be, he just hoped the perfect prospect would land in his lap.

Jack was one of the top agents in motocross back in the day. It had been a while since he had signed a star athlete. Even when he thought he nailed someone, they would just go sign with someone else who they claimed would give them a better opportunity. Now, his business was about to shut down. He needed to sign someone huge and start training them soon.

"Mr. Wilson?" He heard after a knock on his open door. The new intern Eric Morgan, stepped into his office.

"What is it, Eric?" Jack asked. He just had what he would consider to be the worst staff meeting of his career. Eric better be presenting something good.

"Well, I know in the meeting you said we need to find the next big thing." Eric said. "I think I know who that is."

"If this is about your hometown hero Zane Bennett, forget it." Jack said. "There are too many rich boys in this league."

"No, it's not him." Eric said. "It's-it's actually someone I raced against last week."

"Luke Williamson?" Jack asked. "The ejected boy?"

"No, Rikki Chadwick." Eric finally blurted out.

"Rikki Chadwick," Jack repeated. "I'm not sure I'm familiar with that bloke. He's in Gold Coast?"

"She is, yes." Eric said. Jack raised his eyebrows. He had never signed a female racer. Eric set his laptop on Jack's desk.

"This was the first race." Eric told his boss. "She's in the black suit."

Jack watched as this girl made the guys around her look like fools. Her turns were sharp and precise, her jumps were incredibly controlled. She was fast and smart as a whip. Jack wouldn't have thought his intern would have been the one to find the answers to his prayers. Rikki Chadwick was exactly who he was looking for.

"Do you think you can bring her in?" Jack asked.

"I think that can be arranged." Eric replied.

"Good." Jack said. "Great work, Eric. I look forward to meeting her."

Chapter Text

Chapter 15: Everyone and Their Father's Objection of Rikki and Zane

Rikki had never been in a relationship before. Her first kiss had been a dare during recess and the boy had shoved sand in her face when they were done. She didn't know how to be a proper girlfriend but she did see the things boyfriends and girlfriends would do together. She cringed at the thought of eating dinners at candle lit restaurants or seeing cheesy romance movies but with Zane, she found these activities to be rather enjoyable. It was probably because he liked poking fun at them too.

He still talked about the mermaid occasionally. She always tried to end the conversation or steer it in a different direction but she was starting to feel guilty. She doubted he would sell her or any of the girls off, she only worried he would accidentally let it slip to someone who wouldn't care about their well-being. Rikki was also pretty possible the girls didn't like Zane, let alone trust him. He had bumped into Lewis earlier that day during school and Cleo and Emma had made retorts about Zane. Rikki simply decided to stick her head high and carry on.

Rikki and Zane met up at the mall after school that day. He brought up the mermaid again and she changed the subject by pointing out a dress in the window she genuinely liked. Zane sounded surprised she would like a dress like that which she supposed was fair. Generally she did prefer to wear shorts and a t-shirt but she was a girl after all. Her phone started ringing and she knew the date was over. Emma had called to ask her if she wanted to meet at Mako. Rikki agreed, made up some excuse to Zane and took off towards Mako.

"So what is it?" Rikki asked once she arrived at the moon pool. She was surprised to see her two friends standing on the surface.

"We know about you and Zane." Emma told her. "We saw you at the movies."

Rikki scoffed. That's what they dragged her all the way out to Mako for? Rikki couldn't help but feel insulted as their time together went on. Did they think Rikki didn't realize Zane was pursuing them? Didn't they know Rikki wouldn't have dated him if she didn't think she could handle it? They wouldn't even give her space to explain her logic of dating him, to keep him away from the secret, not bring him any closer to it. It was the ultimatum that did it for her. Mermaids or not, Rikki didn't care to have any interaction with the other two now.

Zane had returned to his home after his date with Rikki. He wished they could have stayed out but he knew she needed time with her friends too. He didn't want to take her away from them but he also didn't want to face his father.

As luck would have it, Harrison was home when Zane arrived. He wasted no time telling Zane how he was going to be hosting a luncheon during the weekend and he wanted Zane to attend. Zane had no interest, he was sure he could hang out with Rikki instead. That was until his father bribed him with allowance money. Zane had yet to tell Rikki but he was saving up to buy her a bike. He had enough now but he wouldn't be able to afford a juice for the next few weeks, much less any petrol for his own bike or his Zodiac. He was trying to save a bit up and he figured with this next allowance, he'd have enough to make the purchase.

Harrison suggested Zane bring Miriam to the lunch. Zane scoffed and told his dad if he came, he would be bringing Rikki. Zane knew his dad wasn't a big fan of hers. They hadn't exactly gotten off well the last time they met and Rikki was head strong. She had a mind of her own, a quality which Zane admired and he guessed his dad had a distaste for. The women he had on his arm weren't exactly the brightest girls.

Zane was able to blow his dad off and made his way up to his room. He had been sipping on the orange juice he poured himself downstairs when he thought of the red dress Rikki had pointed out to him at the mall. That would be the perfect dress for her to wear during the luncheon. He didn't think she would be thrilled about attending but maybe he could persuade her with the dress. Zane finished his juice and made his way back to the mall. He meant to pick up some new shin guards from the motocross store anyway, he'd grab the dress too.

Zane went to the boutique with the dress in it first. It wasn't nearly as expensive as he thought it would be so he asked the cashier if she could wrap it so he could present it to Rikki as a gift. He stuffed the box in his book bag. If he happened to run into Will or one of the other guys in the motocross store, he didn't want to explain why he had such a girly box in his possession.

Zane was about to check out with the shin guards when he noticed a bike across from the counter. He was sure it was the Suzuki bike Rikki wanted but the price was incredibly low. There had to be some mistake.

"What's the deal with that Suzuki bike?" Zane asked the cashier.

"It's a used model." The cashier replied. "Lots of wear and tear but the previous owner said he didn't want it anymore. Basically gave it to us. We've got a few people looking at it right now but-"

"I'll take it." Zane cut the man off. He could afford that bike and then some. He was also sure even if it had just been put on display, it would be gone the next time it came in the store.

"You sure, mate?" The cashier asked him.

"Well, you can still ride it, can't you?" Zane asked.

"Yeah," the man replied. "Fully functional engine, just a few scratches and dents."

"That's perfect." Zane said. He wondered if Rikki would accept a bike in general, let alone a shiny, brand new one. At least this way he could tell her he didn't spend an arm and a leg on it. He doubted he'd even need his next allowance with how cheap the bike was.

Zane stuffed his shin guards into his book bag that looked like it was going to explode and rode the new bike to the tracks. It was a pretty smooth ride, he was sure Rikki would love it. She hadn't been out here since she had crashed her old bike, Zane was sure he could hide it here. He then began thinking of ways he could present it to her. He didn't want to make a big show of it, he'd prefer to do it when it was just the two of them.

"Hey, Henry," Zane said as he walked into the shop and saw the older man standing at the counter as usual. "I need a favor."

Rikki left the trailer early that morning to walk along the beach. She had planned to meet the girls for a swim but after the events of yesterday, she didn't think it would be a great idea to join them or even go on a swim by herself. If she was honest with herself, she wanted to ride her bike but she couldn't do that. She supposed she could use Zane's bike but she didn't want to take away from his training time. She guessed that was what he was going to spend his day doing.

"Rikki!" She heard someone call her name. She turned around to see a boy she didn't recognize run up to her. She furrowed her eyebrows at him and prepared to take the defensive. How did this guy know her? Maybe she was a bit of a local celebrity but she only had girls run up to her and that hadn't happened in a while.

"Hey, how are you?" He asked. Rikki furrowed her eyebrows even more.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Oh, sorry I-I'm Eric, Eric Morgan." He said. "We were in a race together a few weeks ago."

"Right." Rikki said, remembering the boy now. She didn't get as close of an encounter with him as she did Luke and she certainly didn't know him like she knew Zane.

"What do you want?" She asked him.

"Well, I just wanted to make you an offer." He said.

"I have a boyfriend." She told him.

"No, not that kind of offer." Eric replied with a laugh. "See, I started interning for Jack Wilson."

There was a moment of silence between the two. Eric gave her a look as if she was supposed to know who that was. Rikki had never heard of that name.

"Who?" She asked.

"Jack Wilson?" Eric continued. "The motocross agent?"

"Okay," Rikki replied, slowly. She wondered what any of this had to do with anything. "What about him?"

"He's looking to sign new talent." Eric said. "Something he hasn't seen before. I showed him footage of your first race in the tournament and he wanted to meet with you and see if maybe you and the agency could come to a deal."

"Wait, you're serious?" Rikki asked him. She was excited and ready to say yes but then she remembered she didn't have a bike. How could she sign a deal with no bike?

"Dead serious." Eric said as he handed her a business card.

"Well... thanks but I don't really ride anymore." Rikki said. "Not since the accident."

"That's too bad." Eric said. "You are a good racer. Feel free to call him if anything changes."

Rikki briefly watched Eric walked away. She sighed and stuffed the card in her pocket. Rikki never gave her future much thought but she supposed being a professional motocross racer would be fun. There were all girl leagues, she didn't have to be the odd one out. If she got good enough, she could travel the world, sign endorsement deals and get out of the hell hole that was a trailer park she had lived in all of her life. The only problem was she didn't have a bike. She had already talked to her dad about it and he had told her they couldn't afford it right now. She doubted this was what Zane meant when he said she could use his bike.

Rikki walked for a little while longer until she decided to sit down atop on of the sand dunes. She rested her head against her hands and began to think. She had a lot on her mind from the girls to the motocross offer.

"Happy Birthday." She heard from behind her. It was Zane. He was dressed up and presenting her with a box.

"It's not my birthday." She replied.

"Don't argue, it's a present." Zane told her as he settled in the sand behind her.

Rikki lifted the lid on the box and saw a red, lacy material. Her jaw dropped when she realized what it was. Zane had bought her the dress she saw in the window yesterday. She thanked him and he asked her if she was in the mood to wear it. He went on to tell her how his dad was having a business luncheon and how Zane was inviting her as his date. Rikki didn't really want to go but she reckoned she didn't have anything better to do. She ran home, grabbed a pair of nice shoes that would match the dress, went to Zane's house and changed into the dress in his guest bathroom.

Rikki stepped out of the bathroom and was pleasantly surprised by Zane's expression. She did love the dress but she didn't dress up often so when she did, she didn't always feel secure. The look on his face let her know she looked more than okay.

Once Zane got his bearings back, he lead her outside and down the stairs of his home. There was a small crowd out by the pool, including Emma. Rikki guessed her dad was one of Harrison's potential investors. She wasn't aware her former friend was going to be at this event. It made her feel uneasy yet again. Zane picked up on as much and asked her what was wrong at the table.

To Rikki's and, she guessed, Emma's dread, Harrison had planned to develop Mako Island. She knew she couldn't let him do that. Zane spoke up before she could get a chance. He told his dad and the party they couldn't develop the island because he had seen a mermaid nearby. Great arguing tactic, Rikki thought. Harrison brushed his son off and Rikki figured Zane would be out for the count for the rest of the lunch. He could be so sensitive sometimes. On the contrary, she would fight this idea until she was told to leave. She didn't expect it to be Zane that threw her over the edge. He wouldn't stand up to his dad and he was asking her to back down. What a coward.

Rikki ran to the secluded beach in her red dress and heels. It took longer to get out to the shore, whether that was because the dress was restricting her or she desperately needed to be in the water, she didn't know. She dove into the sea hoping to feel the usual warmth and welcoming invitation but it felt cold and distant for the first time. She supposed a lot had changed since she last dove in the water.

Rikki lifted her head out of the water once she arrived in the moon pool. This place hosted so many memories for her, Emma and Cleo. She thought back to the night they became mermaids. She thought of the strong bond they had created since. She wondered if that would ever exist again. She genuinely hoped it would, she valued very few things more than that. She wondered if she could be in the moon pool when they were here. She wondered if it would be awkward or if they would bully her out. She wondered if she could protect herself from the full moon and other mermaid threats when left to her own devices.

Rikki was alone. She always preferred to be alone. Or did she really?

Rikki pulled herself out of the water, she had bigger, more pressing fish to fry at the moment. She was thankful she had agreed to go along with Zane to the luncheon, how else would she have learned about his dad wanting to develop Mako? How else would she have stopped it? Zane tried but once he was shot down, he transformed back into a ventriloquist dummy. Emma have voiced her concerns but she seemed to be thrown back into the shadows as well. Rikki was a bit more outspoken than the two and let her concerns fly, possibly in a rude way. She didn't care, she had to protect her home.

Rikki didn't know much about business but she knew if Harrison could convince Emma's dad and the other man at the table to develop Mako, there would be next to nothing she could do to stop it. She needed to come up with a solution now. How? She was never the problem solver, that was usually Emma or Lewis. She wished she could talk to them and get some ideas. She felt as if her life depended on it. She was losing everything, she needed Mako to stay the way it was. She couldn't imagine a life without it. Without the moon pool, the coral reefs, the graceful Mako sharks, the dolphins and turtles...

Wait, there had to be some sort of environmental protection on all of those, save the moon pool. There had to be some sort of agency she could inform of these potential changes. They could stop Harrison's plans. Then again, would an agency listen to a girl like her? This luncheon had proved to Rikki there were some places and people who didn't want to take the words of kids like her, Zane and Emma. Maybe someone would listen to them? How would she reach them? The news, duh! Everyone watched the news. Well, maybe not kids but adults did. Maybe at least one adult would listen to her and anyone else she could get on her side.

Rikki dove back into the water, ready to take to appropriate steps to take Harrison Bennett down. She was proud of her problem solving skills. Maybe she could go on alone.

Zane did his best to exclude himself from the rest of the luncheon. The more his dad talked about his plans with Mako Island, the more Emma's father and the other man seemed interested. Zane knew he had to stop this somehow but he knew he couldn't speak up until he knew of a sure fire way to stop it. He wished he hadn't sent Rikki away, maybe she and his dad could get into the battle of all ages. He didn't think his dad's potential investors would be interested in working with him if he continued to be a dick to a fifteen year old girl.

Emma had been trying her best to convince her father not to develop the island to no avail. He and the other man were about to sign papers despite Emma's protests when Rikki reappeared. Zane stood from his seat to hear what she had to say.

"Developing Mako Island is wrong and greedy, not to mention stupid." Rikki shot at his dad. "The island is home to the largest population of Mako Sharks, do you think they're just going to pack up when they hear you coming? Oh, and they're protected too."

Harrison tried to interrupt her but Rikki had apparently left to do her research. Suddenly, the other two men at the table didn't seem interested in developing the island. Once she was done tearing his dad a new one, she turned her attention to Zane. She told him she had no interest in dating him if he was just going to listen to every word his dad says. He figured as much. He knew one of the reasons he was attracted to Rikki was because of how strong and outspoken she was. He could work on that too.

"Sit down, Zane." His father commanded him.

Zane scoffed. "You just don't get it, do you?"

Zane relished in the dumbfounded look on his dad's face. He grabbed Rikki's hand and let her lead him out of his house. Without either of them mentioning it, they walked out to the beach nearby.

"I am feeling monumentally great." Zane exclaimed as soon as they arrived.

"What if your dad cuts your allowance?" Rikki asked him.

"Whatever." Zane said. "I'll get a job. It just felt so good to stand up to him like that. And I really loved what you had to say."

"I was pretty good, wasn't I?" Rikki asked.

"So do you believe me?" Zane asked her.

"Believe you what?" Rikki replied.

"Believe I saw a mermaid." Zane said.

Rikki thought about this for a moment. Of course she believed him. She knew he saw a mermaid, she knew what mermaid he saw too. The mermaid in question had been at the lunch the pair had just marched out of. Still, she didn't think she'd be able to tell him 'no' and expect him to keep dating her.

"I believe in you, Zane." Rikki replied.

He smiled at her before she got a phone call. She flipped her phone open to answer the caller. It was Emma apologizing and asking to hang out. Rikki looked at Zane pitifully and decided to split the difference. She'd walk along the beach with Zane for a while and then she would go hang out with the girls.

Sometimes Rikki and Zane didn't talk very much on their dates, they just enjoyed each other's company. He mused aloud about the mermaid again and Rikki let him talk, she didn't protest like she usually would. He talked about the mermaid with care, it didn't sound like he wanted to hurt the creature. Zane just wanted to prove he was right. Rikki wracked her brain as she debated on telling Zane about her secret identity. She knew Cleo and Emma would be pissed. Maybe she could talk to them about it.

Soon, Rikki was meant to meet up with the girls at Cleo's house. Zane kissed her and Rikki went to walk off towards Cleo's nearby home.

"What are you doing after you hang out with your friends?" Zane asked her.

"Probably just going home." Rikki replied.

"Do you think you can come to the track with me tonight?" Zane asked.

"Do you need to talk about something?" Rikki asked. The track was the place they would go if they had to get something heavy off of their mind.

"No," Zane replied. "No, I just wanted to get your help on something. There's a turn I'm not sure I'm nailing. Just thought I could get some pointers from the pro."

The pro. Rikki had a chance to be a pro if she had a bike. She wondered how Zane would feel about that. He had accepted she would beat him in most races but he still had his pride. He was the defending city tournament champion, maybe he'd wonder why she got an offer and he didn't. Rikki wondered if she only got the offer because she was a girl that could at least make her way around a racetrack without falling off her bike. She wouldn't be interested if that was the case. She wondered if Zane's masculinity would take over and he would simply be pissed she got an offer and he didn't. She wouldn't feel guilty if he was upset with her.

"Do you think Henry will let you in after hours?" Rikki asked.

"I think he'll let me in if I stay with you." Zane said. "I think he misses you being on the track."

"He's not the only one." Rikki admitted.

"Hey, I told you you can use my bike whenever you want." Zane said.

"No, that's okay." Rikki replied. "You need to train for the tournament. Maybe I'll use it after the final race is over."

"I really don't mind." Zane said. "But if you're adamant about it, I guess there's nothing I can do."

Rikki gave him a sad smile. "I'll catch you later."

Zane watched as she walked up the sand dunes towards Cleo's house. He couldn't wait to see the look of surprise on her face once she found out what he had in store for her.

Chapter Text

Chapter 16: How Rikki Got Her Groove Back

Once Rikki had arrived in Cleo's room, she smiled as she knew her mermaid gang was back together. Cleo commended her for sabotaging Harrison's lunch and both girls apologized for their mistake in not believing in Rikki. They agreed to not hide anything else from each other. Or at least not anything important.

"I just have one question." Cleo started. "Don't get angry but... what do you see in Zane?"

Rikki looked up from the magazine she was reading and smiled, trying to hide her blush. What did she see in Zane? She could see how the two girls in front of her might be confused. Zane had been nothing short of an arrogant jerk all of his life. Rikki guessed she was the first person he was really himself around. He did seem to understand her unlike anyone else she ever met had, despite their differences.

"He gets me." Rikki replied.

The three girls and Lewis hung out for a few hours. They talked about the dolphins off Mako Island Cleo had befriended, laughed about Emma's hair that was still red in her mermaid form and discussed Rikki's motocross offer. It was a good thing, if only she had a bike. She would call the man on the business card in a heartbeat if she did.

Eventually, Rikki, Emma and Lewis left Cleo's home. Rikki guessed the other two were going to head back to their homes but she was just on time to meet Zane at the track. Henry was really becoming soft with the two of them, letting him stay after hours as often as they did.

"Hey," Zane said as he jumped out from one of the tress near the entrance of the track. Rikki jumped in surprise.

"You scared me." She told him as she tried to catch her breath.

"Sorry," Zane laughed. He didn't sound sorry at all. "I just may have lied to you about why I wanted to meet."

"What?" Rikki asked.

"I have a surprise for you." Zane said. "Here, put this on and I'll guide you in."

Zane handed her what looked like a tie. She reckoned he wanted her to put it over her eyes rather than around her neck.

"You want to blindfold me?" Rikki asked.

"Only to hide the surprise." Zane said. "It will just be for a minute. Come on, don't you trust me?"

That was an interesting question, Rikki thought. She supposed in a way she did, she didn't think Zane was going to intentionally do something bad to her. She wondered if he'd feel the same way if he found out she was a fish.

"Sure." Rikki replied, slowly. She took the tie from him and allowed him to secure it over her eyes. She could see beneath her so she could look out for any large rocks that might be in the way. Otherwise, she'd just have to hope Zane was leading her in the right direction and keeping her away from any obstacles.

"All right, you can stop." He told her. Rikki brought herself to a halt, wondering what was going on. They were at the track now, they had been walking along the trail for a few minutes. Rikki guessed they were close to the shop and the stalls. She wondered if Nate had taken his stall back yet since she had all but quit motocross since the accident.

Zane unwrapped the tie from around her face and Rikki saw they were indeed in front of the stalls. Zane's stall looked the same as it always had but the one that had been hers had a bike in it. She guessed right, Nate had moved in to her stall.

"So Nate moved back in?" Rikki asked Zane. He looked confused as ever.

"No," Zane replied. "He didn't beat you in a race, did he?"

"Well, what's his bike doing there then?" Rikki asked.

Zane laughed at her. "It's not Nate's bike, it's yours."

Zane watched with great satisfaction as Rikki's eyes widened and she turned back to the stall. She slowly walked into it and Zane followed. It was set up just how she left it aside from the bike at the center. Zane wasn't lying at least, Nate hadn't moved back in. All of her stuff was still there. She turned her attention to the bike at the center. She placed one hand on a handlebar before she saw the text across the frame.

"Suzuki?" Rikki said aloud. Zane was standing on the opposite side of the bike. "You didn't..."

"I got it for you." Zane told her. "I know how much you miss riding and how stubborn you are about not riding my bike."

"Zane, I can't accept this." Rikki said as she moved away from the bike.

"Yes, you can." Zane replied. "I even made sure it had petrol and had Henry do an inspection-"

"Seriously, Zane." Rikki cut him off. "Take it back and get a refund."

"No can do." Zane replied. "It's a used model, you can't return them once they've been used. The way I see it, you have two options. You can accept this bike, the one you've always wanted, or you can have my bike and I take this one. The decision's yours."

Rikki crossed her arms and shook her head. Zane was so unbelievable. She looked up at him and tried to hide her smile and her tears. He was right, she had missed riding so much and she thought she wouldn't be able to get on a bike for a long time. Now, she not only had a bike but she had her dream bike. She couldn't believe it, this couldn't be real. She brushed her hand against the tough wood of the stalls as she approached Zane just to make sure this wasn't some cruel dream.

"Thank you." She told him.

"You're welcome." Zane replied with a big smile. "So what do you say, do you want to take this out for a test drive?"

"Yeah," Rikki replied. "I'd love that."

Rikki met Zane at the start line of the track once they had changed into their suits. Rikki wondered if she would still be able to beat Zane. She hadn't been on a bike in weeks and he had been training like crazy for the city tournament. Maybe he would smoke her. Rikki had to get used to the way her new bike handled. It was a lot faster than her old one and ran a lot smoother. She made turns and jumps that much better. She reckoned Zane might beat her on her old bike but now he didn't stand a chance. They raced a handful of times, Rikki winning every single lap.

They fell back into their routine of riding their bikes up to their stalls and enjoying a sports drink on the hills. Zane had picked a grape flavor this time.

"Thank you for the bike." Rikki told Zane. "It means the world, really."

"No problem." Zane replied. "I'd reckon you'd do the same for me."

"I'd try." Rikki said. "You know I don't have Bennett money."

"I guess." Zane said. "What is the deal with your family, anyway?"

Rikki scoffed. "Where do I begin?"

Zane waited for a moment to let her collect her thoughts. It became clear after a moment that Rikki wasn't trying to get her family affairs in order, she was simply not wanting to talk about the subject. His dad had brought it up, he didn't know anything about her family. Zane supposed Rikki didn't know very much about his. Maybe if he opened up, she would be willing to share with him.

"My parents split up when I was young." Zane said. Rikki turned her attention back to him. "I don't know, I was maybe seven or eight. It came out of the blue, they sat me down and told me they were getting a divorce. I didn't know anything was wrong. My mum was great, she came to all my tournaments and what not but I guess she... well, she picked another man over me and my dad."

"Why are you telling me this?" Rikki asked.

"I figure if I could open up to you, you might want to open up to me." Zane said.

Rikki shook her head and took another sip of her drink. "It's not that easy."

"How so?" Zane asked.

"I just..." Rikki started. "It's not all sunshine and rainbows."

"Since when has anything we've talked about on this hill been overwhelmingly positive?" Zane asked her.

Rikki sighed. She wasn't prepared to tell her life story but she supposed Zane wasn't going to leave her be until he got some answers. Just a snippet of her life. He had mentioned his mum, maybe she should talk about her mum too.

"My mum moved here with us." Rikki told him. "We all moved out here for my dad's job. He's got a bit of a temper though and he's been fired more times than I can count. That's why we've move around so much. Anyway, my dad got fired and I guess that was the final straw with my mum. She left us. It's just been me and my dad for a few months now."

"What did you do after she left?" Zane asked. He didn't know what had possessed him to ask her that question but he felt it was important.

"I did what I always did when I'm upset." Rikki told him. "I came here and saw you fixing my bike."

Zane's eyes widened. "You mean the night we first-"

"Yeah," Rikki replied. "Guess you're right, these chats haven't always been positive."

"Well, at least we have each other to lean on." Zane said as he wrapped an arm around her. It wasn't as comfortable cuddling with their motocross pads on.

"That's true." Rikki said with a smile. She was thankful Zane was in her life. She looked to the sky and saw it was nearly dark out. Once the lights on the track turned on, it was hard to keep track of time.

"I guess we should head out." Rikki said.

"I suppose you're right." Zane said as he helped her stand. They went into their stalls and shed their racing suits before they exited the track.

"Thank you for telling me that." Zane told Rikki. "About your mum."

"Yeah," Rikki replied. "No problem."

"You know you can tell me anything, right?" Zane asked. "I know you're not exactly and open book and neither am I but... you can trust me."

Rikki felt another pane of guilt. How little Zane knew about her. She wondered how much she knew about him. She wouldn't mind telling him much of anything aside from her mermaid identity. She supposed she was tethered to Cleo and Emma with that fact and had no business telling anyone that secret the three didn't approve of. The two girls seemed more open to Zane now but Rikki still doubted they would want him to know their mermaid secret.

"Yeah, I know." Rikki replied as they reached the exit. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Do you want me to walk you home?" Zane asked.

"Oh, well I was going to Cleo's house, actually." Rikki said. "Another sleepover, you know."

Zane smirked at her. She hoped he had believed her. "All right, if you're sure. I'll see you tomorrow."

She gave him a smile as they went their separate ways. As Rikki walked up to the small trailer she lived in, she thought about just how different her life was from Zane's. She had never considered it before but the only thing they seemed to have in common was motocross. It was a big part of both of their lives but it wasn't their whole lives. They had different friend groups, different interests aside from motocross, different backgrounds. Why would a guy who lived in a mansion want anything to do with a girl like her?

Zane entered his home a little while later. He couldn't wipe the smile from his face. The night had gone just as well as he had planned and then some. As soon as he made it past the entry way, he had a feeling things were going to go downhill. He noticed several men walking around his house he had never seen before.

"Dad," Zane said to his dad once he found him in his study. "What's going on?"

"Oh, a pipe burst in your bathroom." Harrison said. "You'll have to use the guest bedroom and bathroom for now."

"But-" Zane started to protest.

"Zane, I've had enough from you." Harrison said. "First your girlfriend ruins my ground breaking development project and then your pipes burst, I'm not in the mood to hear your protests. Go move your stuff out of your room and stay in the guest bedroom for just a few days."

Zane begrudgingly did as he was told. He grabbed a few sets of clothes and put them in the wardrobe of the downstairs guest bedroom. He gritted his teeth together as he stared at the ceiling. He didn't know what he was so upset about, he still had a roof over his head and a nice place to stay. The guest bedroom was probably the same size as his own.

Zane sat up and went to the guest bathroom to get ready for bed. He was about to brush his teeth when he noticed a small piece of paper on the ground. Probably just a business card from one of his dad's guests. He flipped it over and saw it was a card for a motocross agent. This couldn't have come from his dad, Harrison had told Zane motocross was a waste of time. Who was it from then?

Rikki.

Zane remembered she had changed into her red dress in this very bathroom. There was a chance the card had fallen out of her pocket and she hadn't realized it. Where did she get this card anyway? Was this agent seeking her out? Did she seek this agent out? What was going on? Zane thought he should wait to talk to her about it, she would tell him when she was ready.

Then again, would she really?

Chapter Text

Chapter 17: Zane's Mysterious Girlfriend

Rikki and Zane were at the mall, trying to fend off the heat with two ice cream cones. Zane thought it would be a brilliant idea to pull her in for a kiss but managed to forget about her cone and she smashed the cold treat into him. He teased her and scraped her nose with a bit of his own ice cream. They ran around the mall like they were children before he finally caught her and gave her the kiss he had been wanting to give her.

The final race in the city tournament was coming up soon so Zane was preparing for that. Most of the time, Rikki spent her days in the ocean with either Emma or Cleo or simply by herself. She wondered if Zane was curious of her whereabouts. Of course he was, he was curious about nearly everything. She loved the bike he had given her, it was the most thoughtful gift she had received in a long time. Rikki just found herself getting carried away with her mermaid life. Ten minute swims would quickly turn into hours, flipping through the ocean and exploring the reefs, fish and any other wonder under the sea. She supposed a part of her wanted to think more about the motocross agent as well. That was all she could think about when she was on her bike. She reckoned getting a bike wasn't all she was going to need to sign with the agent after all. For once, Rikki loved her life. She had the greatest friends she had ever had and an amazing boyfriend. She didn't want to wreck it. She was careful of every move she made, not just that of the motocross deal.

Zane asked her if she wanted to come out on his Zodiac with him to look for the mermaid. Rikki made some excuse about not wanting to go. He was irritated yet again. She guessed she couldn't keep this charade up much longer. She was running out of excuses, she would likely reach the point where he'd have to break up with her or she would have to tell him her mermaid identity. Or he'd have to find out. That thought was the worst of them all. Zane had been open with her from the beginning and she hid so much. There were some things she didn't feel bad about hiding. Her living situation for one, he didn't have to know about that. Her mermaid life just felt like it was becoming that much of a bigger part of her, she felt like she was hiding half of herself from him.

Before she could think any further, something silver and shiny caught her eye in a store window. It was a locket, identical to Cleo's and Ms. Chatham's. Rikki knew regardless of if she and Zane had been talking about mermaids before or not, she would have to go into that shop. The clerk seemed annoyed by her but she didn't care. She had to make sure that locket was what she thought it was. It probably meant the world to Ms. Chatham. The woman was crazy but she had helped the three girls adjust to their new lives in so many ways. Rikki snapped a picture of the pendant and left a confused Zane at the doorstep of the store.

After Rikki left, Zane decided to go to the track to train some more. He ran into Miriam at the mall shortly after Rikki left but brushed her appearance off. She didn't matter to him anymore. The tournament was coming up soon and he was spending as much time as possible training at the tracks. Zane would be okay with not repeating his title, that got harder and harder every year. At the least, he just wanted to beat Luke.

Zane wondered why Rikki never seemed to be at the track. He thought after he had purchased her dream bike for her, Henry would have to drag her off the track, kicking and screaming. She had come out a few times but she seemed preoccupied with something else. What that something else was, Zane didn't know. She was so secretive, so mysterious. He wondered if she just liked hanging out with her friends more than she did with him or at the track. He wondered if this had anything to do with the agency.

Rikki hadn't talked about the agency with him at all. Zane wondered if the business card was hers but it had to be. The maids cleaned all the rooms in his home at least once a week. They found stuff he would keep hidden constantly, they would notice a business card on the floor. The only person Zane was aware of that used that bathroom was Rikki. He doubted his dad had invited any up and coming motocross racers to the house while Zane was out. It had to be hers. Were Rikki and the agent scheming some plan to get her back in the race? Were they going to trick Rikki and move her to Sydney or across the world to profit off her talents? Zane was going mad trying to figure out what was happening and why Rikki hadn't told him anything about it.

Zane rode his bike for a few hours before he decided to grab lunch at the JuiceNet before returning to the track. Maybe he'd run into Rikki at the cafe and see if she wanted to hang out with him later on. She had left him hanging at the mall, he should at least get an explanation for that.

As he approached the cafe, he heard two girls screaming. His curiosity got the best of him and he burst into the cafe to see Rikki all but tackling Miriam to the ground, going for the rich girl's neck. Zane briefly noticed the silver locket Rikki had been so enthralled with sitting on Miriam's chest.

Shit.

Zane grabbed Rikki around her waist, pulling her off Miriam and giving the other girl the chance to stand up. It felt like he was trying to hold a shark from attacking a seal. Rikki wasn't giving the fight up. She eventually shoved him off of her and ran out of the cafe. Zane chased after her, finally catching her by a tree near the cafe.

"Don't," Rikki exclaimed as he went to grab her arm. "Did you tell Miriam I wanted that locket?"

"No," Zane said back. He did see Miriam at the mall though. He asked her if girls liked getting jewelry and... oh no.

"Thanks a lot." Rikki replied with sarcasm once he told her about his encounter with Miriam.

"I was thinking of buying it for you." Zane tried. This wasn't his fault, how was he supposed to know Miriam would buy the locket? It wasn't like he pointed at the item and hammered in the fact Rikki wanted it.

"Well, it's too late now, isn't it?" Rikki said. "You told her I liked it, she went and got it just to get at me, you should have kept quiet."

It was times like these Rikki was glad Zane didn't know her mermaid identity. It was times like these she wondered if she could trust him. He really did blurt out anything that was on his mind.

"Do you still have feelings for that whining airhead?" Rikki asked him. He might think it was a low blow but she had to be sure.

"No, you know that!" He confirmed. Rikki sighed a breath of relief as she thought about what to say next. "Look, if it matters that much to you, I'll buy you another one."

"There isn't another one." Rikki replied. "Well there is but it's a part of a set."

"Okay, so why is it so important?" He asked.

Oh, because fifty years ago, there were three mermaids in Gold Coast who owned those necklaces? Yeah, that would be a perfect response, Rikk thought. Yes, Zane had blurred out her desire to have the locket but she wished she could tell him everything anyway.

"It doesn't matter, forget about it." Rikki sighed, looking away from Zane and out to the land in front of her.

"'Forget about it?'" Zane repeated. "You almost tore Miriam apart! What is going on?"

Rikki sighed again, looked at Zane and then back out to the land. He scoffed in response.

"You know, I'm getting really sick of these secrets." Zane said.

"So am I." Rikki replied as she went to walk off.

"Really?" Zane said as he pursued her. She was walking away and it didn't seem like she had any intention to return to him. "You know you can tell me anything, we agreed on the track."

"Zane, this is-" Rikki started, turning around to face him.

"It's too much for me?" Zane asked. "You don't think I can handle it? Look, I'm sorry about the locket, truly I am. I'll- I'll get it back for you but please just tell me the truth."

"It's..." Rikki started before she licked her lips. "It's not my place to tell you."

Zane scoffed again. "Rikki, what is so big you can't tell me? It's always something with you, isn't it? First it's you not wanting to talk about mermaids and never wanting to come out on the boat. Now, it's this locket and the motocross agent and-"

"Wait," Rikki cut him off. "The motocross agent? How did you know about that?"

Zane sighed and reached into his pocket. He didn't know when he was going to confront her about it or when she would tell him what was going on so he kept in on him just in case.

"You left this at my place during my dad's luncheon." Zane said as he held up the card for her.

Rikki walked up to him and snatched the card from his grasp. "Were you planning on giving this back to me?"

"Of course, I was." Zane said. "I was hoping you would tell me about it."

"Zane, get this into your head." Rikki started in a low voice. "I'm not going to tell you everything that's going on in my life. Not now at least."

"Oh, so you don't trust me?" Zane responded.

"No, not completely." Rikki said. "You walk around blurting things out left and right without thinking how they will affect others. Until you learn how to do that, no I can't trust you."

Zane thought that was a hit below the belt. He felt himself getting angry, too angry. Only his father and now Rikki could ever get him this mad. When he was this mad at his father, he found it to be best if he just walked away. He reckoned he should do the same with Rikki.

"I'll see you later." Zane said as he left her behind and went into the cafe.

Rikki returned the the cafe later that day. She had spent the afternoon with Cleo, Emma and Ms. Chatham. The old woman had to have something against Rikki, or at least against Rikki and Zane being an item. Rikki's counterpart back in the day was a girl named Julia. Julia had a bad boy boyfriend too by the name of Carl. Ms. Chatham told the girls how Julia told Carl of her mermaid life and how Carl had not accepted her but tried to expose her to the whole world. Rikki felt her blood boil throughout the story. Ms. Chatham was telling this story as a warning to Rikki. Rikki didn't have intentions on telling Zane her mermaid secret any time soon, although she hoped she could do it without protest eventually. Zane wasn't Carl, he knew about the mermaid and he didn't seem to want to harm it.

Lewis had called Rikki and told her he had the money for the locket. Rikki sighed realizing she had forgotten to tell him Miriam had already bought the locket. Between her argument with Zane and the crazy adventures of Ms. Chatham, it had been a wild day to say the least. Rikki decided she should enter the juice bar and grab something to drink before she went home for the day. It had been long and weird day, she deserved a treat for what she had to put up with.

To her surprise, she saw Zane talking to Miriam. What were they doing? Was Zane lying to her when he said he didn't have feelings for the other girl? It appeared so as Rikki watched her boyfriend kiss another girl. She felt like she had been stabbed in the heart. She locked eyes with Miriam during the kiss and Rikki wondered if maybe, just maybe, Miriam had fooled him into doing this. The girl walked past him, forcing Zane to turn around and see Rikki standing behind him.

"I can explain." He told her.

Rikki shook her head. "I don't think you can."

"I only did it to get the locket." Zane told her as he grabbed her arm to keep Rikki from walking away from him. "It didn't mean anything."

"I'm glad kissing someone means so little to you." Rikki shot back.

"Just... wait here." Zane told her. "Everything will be fine, you'll see. Just wait here."

With that, Zane exited the cafe. Rikki was left inside to think on her own. Why in the world had Zane kissed Miriam? The feelings he had expressed to Rikki had seemed so true. Why would he kiss Miriam after he had just purchased a bike for Rikki? Rikki knew Zane's family was loaded but she still figured that purchase must have cost him a lot. If he truly didn't care about her anymore, why would he do this?

Something beckoned Rikki to step outside. She saw Zane standing in front of Miriam, holding his hand out as if she would just drop the pendant in it. Miriam scrunched her face up at the sight of Rikki, turned around and threw the locket in the ocean. Now no one can have it, she had said. It wasn't a big deal, Rikki could go diving for it later. It wouldn't take her long to find it as a mermaid.

Zane turned around and began apologizing to Rikki, admitting it was his fault and saying Miriam said she would give him the locket if he kissed her. Rikki should have known Miriam would pull some scheme like that. Still, Rikki wasn't sure if she could just go running back into Zane's arms after what he had done.

"Wait," he exclaimed as she started walking away again. "I'll get it for you."

Zane walked down to the dock outside of the cafe. Rikki furrowed her eyebrows and followed him, wondering what exactly he was doing. He had kicked off his shoes and tossed his watch beside them before jumping into the ocean. Rikki couldn't help but smile, he would do most anything for her. She was more than capable of finding the locket on her own, more capable than he was. He didn't question it though and dove into the water to make up for his mistake. He only had to come up for air once before he jumped back on the dock with the dripping, wet locket in hand.

Rikki reached out to take it and briefly thought about letting the saltwater soak her hand. She might have done so if the pair were alone but Cleo stood by like a third wheel. Rikki reminded herself this wasn't just her secret to share. She moved her hand as she let go of the necklace and she evaporated the water surrounding the locket. She couldn't tell him about her mermaid secret but she could disclose something else.

Rikki arrived at the track just before closing. She waited atop the hill for Zane to finish his training. She didn't have plans to ride her bike around the track, although she thought she might come back out here tomorrow. Instead she leaned against her bike in her street clothes and flipped the tattered business card between her fingers.

Zane came up to put his bike away. When he caught her eye, he stopped for a moment and then continued to park his bike in his stall, enter the shop and return with two fruit punch sports drinks.

"Thanks." Rikki said as he handed her the drink.

Zane didn't say anything, instead just popping his own drink open and taking a sip.

"I shouldn't have hid anything from you." Rikki told him.

"It's okay." Zane replied. "I know you're not an open book. I'm sorry for prying."

"I've been thinking that's exactly what I need." Rikki said as she took a sip of her own drink.

"What do you mean?" Zane asked.

"I'm not going to just sit down with you and tell you everything about my life, I'm just not." Rikki replied. "I know you and others here don't like that quality about me but... I'm just not comfortable doing that."

"And that's okay." Zane said. "It's just something I'll have to get used to is all."

Rikki sighed. Zane had been right almost every step of the way. She didn't want him to change his mind, he hadn't done anything wrong. Wanting to learn more about your girlfriend was normal.

"I didn't mean to hide this from you." Rikki said as she held up the business card.

"What happened with that, if you don't mind me asking?" Zane questioned.

"Eric Morgan gave it to me." Rikki started. "I ran into him at the beach a while ago. He said Jack was looking for some new clients and I guess I fit the bill."

Zane nodded. "So are you going to do it?"

"I don't know." Rikki answered, honestly. "Eric gave this to me before you got me this bike. I figured I'd say 'no' because what other option did I have? But now, I just don't know."

"Well," Zane started. "What's stopping you?"

"You." Rikki replied.

"What?" Zane asked as if she had just grown a second head.

Rikki sighed in response. "I guess a part of me was worried how you'd take this. Not that it mattered too much, if this Jack Wilson offered me the opportunity of a lifetime, I wouldn't turn it down. But my life is honestly the best it's ever been, I don't want to screw things up. What if I have to move? What if I just have to spend all of my time training? I mean, I could do it but I don't know if you or the girls would be willing to put up with it."

"I'd put up with it." Zane said.

"Really?" Rikki asked as if she didn't believe him.

"I'm serious." Zane said. "I'd at least try to. Look, we've been dating for what, three, four weeks? Not to say I don't like you, because I definitely do, but you've been training and competing in motocross for years, Rikki. This should take priority."

"So you'd do it if you were me?" Rikki asked.

"As long as the offer made sense, yeah." Zane replied. "But it's your decision, not mine. You haven't been riding your bike much."

"Yeah, I suppose it has something to do with this decision." Rikki sighed. "I guess I just... I don't what to screw everything up."

Zane set his drink in the ground and walked up to her, taking her hands in his.

"The decision's yours." Zane said. "There's pros and cons to both sides but I'll be here as long as you want me here. You can bounce ideas off of me or whatever it is you want to do. I'll be here."

He took the moment to lean down and kiss the girl who had a smile and blush on her face. He relished in the fact that he had caused that. She certainly reciprocated his kiss and cleared his palette of Miriam.

"Thank you." Rikki said. "For everything."

"No problem." Zane said. "Why don't you just go visit with this guy? See what his deal is and decide from there."

"I suppose that couldn't hurt." Rikki replied as she placed her head back on his chest.

Zane wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. Rikki wrapped her arms around his waist and they simply held each other in his stall. She wondered if this deal would cause the end of their relationship. She hoped it wouldn't even though Zane seemed willing to sacrifice it if it meant she could have a motocross career. Maybe Zane was right, maybe motocross was more important.

They heard someone clear their throat nearby. They both looked up to see Henry staring back at the pair.

"Closing time." He told them. "Unless you need the keys again."

"No, we're fine." Rikki replied as she let go of Zane. "Thanks, Henry."

Rikki waited for Zane to change out of his suit and then walked with him to the exit of the track.

"Can I walk you home?" He asked.

Rikki had rejected him every time he had asked before. She was embarrassed by her home, especially in comparison to his. Now, she knew she shouldn't hide anything from him and she knew their relationship might come to a close soon anyway, what did it matter?

"Sure," Rikki replied. "Although I have to warn you, it's not like your place."

"I figured." Zane replied. "I don't care where you live, Rikki."

She smiled at him and hoped that was true. It was ironic, he lived in one of the nicest homes in Gold Coast while she lived in one of the worst. She wouldn't blame him too much if he went running. This wasn't what he was used to, she was sure Miriam lived in a comparable mansion to Zane's.

She saw Zane's facial expression drop slightly as she led him through the trailer park. He apologized and simply said he wasn't used to it.

"You don't have to walk me home if you don't want to." She told him. "I can take care of myself, you know."

"I know," Zane said. "I just want to prove a point."

"What point is that?" Rikki asked.

"You'll see." Zane replied.

Rikki stopped at her trailer a few minutes later. She had taken a few paces ahead of Zane since they last spoke so she wouldn't see his face. She didn't think he would be too found of her place.

"This is me." She told him. Zane looked up at the trailer and managed to wipe his fallen face off on the walk over.

"Good to know." He replied. "I'll see you tomorrow."

He pulled her in for a hug and then began walking in the direction they had come from.

"What point were you trying to prove?" Rikki asked after him.

"That I don't care where you live, Rikki." Zane said. "I'll pick you up tomorrow."

Pick her up? As in he was going to come back? Rikki smiled to herself as she entered her home. Motocross or Zane, that would be quite the choice if she had to make it.

"Who's the bloke?" Rikki heard once she had walked inside her home. Her father had scared her.

"No one." Rikki replied once she got her bearings back.

"Was that the same guy you were hugging in the paper?" Terry asked. "Should I be concerned?"

"No," Rikki replied. "He's a perfect gentleman, treating your princess well."

Chapter Text

Chapter 18: Rikki's Offer & Zane's Partner

Following Zane's advice, Rikki decided to meet with Jack Wilson. The man had seemed very nice over the phone and agreed to meet with her just a few days before the city tournament's final race. That had worked out well since Zane spent all of this time training anyway. Rikki wouldn't have to tell him the results of the meeting until he was finished training for the day.

As Rikki adjusted her shirt in Jack's waiting room for the millionth time, she needed to worry about this deal, presenting herself well and all that. She had dressed in her nicest clothes, almost opting to wear the red dress Zane had purchased for her. She decided that didn't seem too appropriate for the business deal she was at the center of.

"Rikki Chadwick." She heard her name called. A man had stepped out of the office she was sitting outside of. She guessed this was Jack Wilson. He was a handsome man who looked to be in his mid-thirties. He wore a light blue collared shirt with a royal blue tie and khaki pants. Businessmen usually intimidated Rikki but something about Jack felt inviting, like she wouldn't have to put up a facade to make sure he liked her.

"I'm Jack Wilson." He continued. "Thrilled to meet with you."

Jack held the door open for her and Rikki walked into the office. It wasn't any space too impressive, there was just enough room to hold his desk and a few chairs opposite him. She took a seat in one of those chairs that matched the chair she had just been sitting on in the waiting area.

"Would you like anything to drink?" Jack asked her.

"No, I'm fine." Rikki replied.

"All right, then." Jack said and took a seat at his chair. "Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?"

Rikki furrowed her eyebrows. "Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?"

Jack laughed at her but obliged. Their backgrounds weren't too different, he had grown up poor but he never raced himself. He studied law because he knew lawyers made money. He would do anything to break the cycle his family had been in. He signed his first racer and best friend when he was twenty years old, fresh out of law school. His friend won several big championships and Jack was able to sign him to multiple endorsements. Rikki had seen pictures of the people he represented in the hallways on her way in. She recognized a good handful of them. Jack must have been pretty good at what he did.

"No offense," Rikki started. "But if you've signed so many great racers, why are you in this dingy office? Shouldn't you be some place…nicer?"

"I suppose so," Jack laughed. He didn't seem to take offense to that. Rikki prepared herself for some business bullshit that would send her to the door. "To be honest with you Rikki, we're struggling. The business isn't like it used to be. More guys are coming up but so are more agents. I need to find the best new talent."

"And you think that's me?" Rikki scoffed. He had sunk low.

"I do." Jack said. "There's a market in female racing. It's new and small but with the right person at the helm, I think it's just what this sport needs."

"And you think I can do it?" Rikki asked. "Take the helm of all female racers in the country? Ha, forget it."

"I never said you could," Jack replied. "I just said you had a chance.

"You've been racing with the guys all your life, yes?" Jack asked. Rikki nodded in reply. "Do you think the girls in all female races do that? You know how brutal it is, I could only imagine. These girls that are pros now are coming out of Sydney and Brisbane where there are girls leagues from a young age on up. Those girls don't know the half of what goes into racing when the odds are stacked against you but you… I heard you were a tenth seed in your city tournament this year. A bit of a 'screw you' in my opinion."

"Yeah, you and me both." Rikki replied.

"Speaking of which, that city tournament race, was that a good race for you?" Jack asked.

Rikki shrugged. "A bit average, really. I had never practiced at that track before so I could probably do better."

"Did you know the time you ran in that race would have qualified you for national finals in the women's league this year?" Jack asked her. Rikki looked at him as if his head had just fallen off.

"This is why I want you, Rikki." Jack continued. "You're different, you're unique, you could turn women's motocross in Australia on it's head. I want to help get you there, get you with a good coach, help you profit to the best of yours and my ability."

"Why you then?" Rikki asked. "If everything you're saying about me is true, why wouldn't other agents come to me? Why should I pick you over them?"

Rikki sensed she had hit a sore spot. Jack looked uncomfortable for the first time since they had met. If she knew better, she would apologize but she needed to know what made him so much better than the others.

"You've met guys in motocross haven't you?" Jack asked. "They're jerks, the lot of them."

"Well, not all of them." Rikki said, doing her best to hide her blush as she thought of Zane.

"I suppose not." Jack said. "Just so you know, most agents are former racers. Not the best at the sport anymore but all the same attitude. I reckon if that's what you're looking for, I'm not the best fit for you but I'm just a man born to a family with nothing trying to make a living for himself. I sense I'm not alone in my sentiments."

Rikki took a sharp inhale. She knew it wasn't difficult for people to tell she wasn't well off. She supposed Jack would wonder how she got her Suzuki bike to begin with. She knew he wasn't lying about his background either. Something about him just seemed different from any other adult she had met in the best, most comfortable way possible.

"So what do you say?" Jack asked her. "Do we have a deal?"

After her meeting with Jack, Rikki went over to Emma's house. She had missed a text from her mermaid friend saying she had a crisis at home. Rikki had expected Emma to tell her one of her family members had discovered she was a mermaid but it was simply that Emma had ruined her family's holiday plans to a beach resort. This seemed like a problem for Cleo to handle not Rikki. Rikki hadn't been on a holiday since… well, she couldn't remember when. Couldn't they just go to a different, more dry location? Emma's family wasn't exactly as well off as Zane's but they still had a good amount of money, this wasn't an issue.

Rikki was ready to dismiss her friend to do just about anything else when Cleo suddenly barged into the room. Wasn't she on a date with Lewis? That's what Emma had told Rikki.

"I don't mean to alarm you but we've got some trouble." Cleo told the other two girls. "What's- her- face is back in town."

Rikki looked at Emma to see if she made sense of what Cleo had said. Emma seemed just as confused as Rikki was.

"Um, I think you're going to have to be a bit more specific than that." Rikki told the dark-haired girl.

"Oh, you know the blonde vixen that stole a sample of our DNA before she could ride off with Lewis into the sunset." Cleo said.

"Ah, the marine biologist," Rikki gathered. "The beautiful one."

"Beautiful?" Cleo questioned. "Her eyes are way too close together."

Cleo went on to tell the two girls Lewis was meeting with Denman at the moment and he would meet up with them at the JuiceNet when he was done. The three girls left Emma's house a few moments later to head to the cafe and wait for their confidante to appear. True to his word, Lewis showed up a little while after the girls did. He told them they didn't have anything to worry about and that she was just doing basic research. The three still had a weird feeling about having her back in town. Rikki had just voiced as much when they had an unexpected visitor come to their table.

"What's this about Mako Island?" Zane had asked the group.

"Nothing." Lewis lied.

"I heard you talking about Mako Island." Zane said. "Something about a marine biologist."

"Yeah, there's just some hot shot marine biologist poking around out there, nothing special." Rikki said. "Hey, that shirt's nice, is it new? It suits you. Anyone want a drink?"

Rikki stood and went to the bar to order the group drinks. Now that Zane was involved in this, she had a really bad feeling. He hadn't given up on his mermaid research. She knew he still hunted the creature when he wasn't training at the track. She wondered if it was time he found out about their secret. Rikki would have to make sure it was okay with the girls before she told him though.

"No," Emma had said later that day in her room when Rikki had mentioned it. "No, absolutely not."

"Why not?" Rikki asked.

"You heard what happened to Ms. Chatham's friend." Emma continued. "Do you want that to happen to you?"

"Well, no, of course not." Rikki replied. "But Zane isn't Carl, there's no telling what he'll say or do."

"Exactly," Emma protested again. "Plus we have a marine biologist in town now, what if he marches straight to her?"

Rikki sighed. She knew this was a bad idea but a part of her hoped maybe her friends would agree with her. It wasn't until she and Cleo were leaving, Rikki realized Cleo hadn't said anything when she mentioned telling Zane the girls were mermaids.

"Hey, Cleo," Rikki started. "What do you think about telling Zane?"

"I don't know," Cleo said. "It's a risk but he seems more…tolerable since you two have been together."

"So you think it would be a good idea?" Rikki asked, trying to hid the hope in her voice.

"I'm not saying anything." Cleo responded. "Other than I know you know Zane better than any of us. Do you really think he wouldn't do anything?"

"I can't be certain but…," Rikki started. "No, I don't think he'd do anything. He's never wanted to hurt it, we'd just have to make sure he keeps his mouth shut."

"That's a challenge on its own." Cleo laughed. Rikki couldn't help but join her.

Instead of returning to her home, Rikki went to the track nearby. She needed to talk with Zane about her meeting with Jack and she felt like running a few laps anyway. Ultimately the meeting had gone well, Rikki supposed. She hadn't agreed to anything yet, she wanted to talk to Zane, her friends and her dad about everything first. Zane's opinion mattered the most to her from a logical perspective. He knew more about motocross and business deals than anyone else she knew. If he thought something was suspicious, she would have to think twice before she signed.

Once Rikki arrived, she noticed Zane's bike wasn't in his stall. It didn't take her long to spot him racing around the track over and over again. His skills seemed to improve, his turns and jumps were looking much better, she noted. Rikki went into her own stall and changed into her suit before riding her bike out to the track. She caught Zane just as he passed the finish line and the pair ensued on a race around the track, Rikki crossing the finish line only slightly before him. Damn, he was getting better.

"You're hard to keep up with on that new bike, you know." Zane told her as they removed their helmets and hopped off their bikes, walking them up to their stalls.

"I could say the same about you." Rikki replied. "I barely beat you."

"I reckon that's a good thing for the tournament." Zane said.

"True." Rikki replied. They had just reached their stalls so they parked their bikes before Rikki went to Zane's stall and leaned on the wall dividing them.

Zane looked at her as he removed his gloves. "So how did your meeting go?"

"Pretty well, I think." Rikki replied. "I didn't promise anything but it did go well."

"That's good." Zane said with a genuine smile on his face. Rikki wanted to laugh. She thought how the boy who had lost his stall to her would react to this. Probably not nearly as happy as her boyfriend in front of her.

"Yeah, Jack seems nice." Rikki said. "We talked for a bit and then we got on the phone with a coach he thought would be good for me. An old friend of his, Aaron Hackett."

"Wait, the Aaron Hackett?" Zane asked. "He's the most decorated racer out of Sydney."

"Yep, that's the one." Rikki said. "I guess that's the only problem, he's still in Sydney."

"So…" Zane started moving around his bike to lean on the frame. "You'd have to move?"

Rikki nodded. "It would just be for a few months at a time. They said they could split time with me, I'd be there for a few months and then they would come here."

"Well, I guess that's better than having you move permanently." Zane said.

"I don't know what to do." Rikki replied with a teary laugh. "This would all be so much easier if I had gotten the offer before I moved here."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'll support you no matter what you want to do." Zane said. "But this is the opportunity of a lifetime. I don't know them like you do but I doubt Cleo, Emma or Lewis would stop being your friends if you took this deal."

"You're probably right." Rikki sighed. "I just don't want to come back and everything be… different."

"I'm sure some things will change but they won't dismiss you." Zane said. "I wouldn't either."

Rikki smiled at him. It was times like these she really had a hard time trying to decide if she should take the deal or not. Zane was the best boyfriend she could ever imagine having and Cleo, Emma and even Lewis were some of the best friends she ever had. Even if she did find good friends in Sydney, she doubted any of them would secretly be mermaids.

"Thank you," Rikki told Zane. "I'll think about it."

"All right." Zane replied. With perfect timing, his phone started to ring. He took a moment to answer it. Rikki saw his eyes go wide at the conversation he was having. He told the person on the other line he would be there soon and hung his phone up.

"Who was that?" Rikki asked.

"Dr. Denman," Zane said. "You know the marine biologist doing research off of Mako?"

Rikki felt her heart sink. "What did she want?"

"She said she's found something on the mermaid." Zane replied pushing past Rikki. Rikki lost her breath for a moment. What could Denman have possibly found on the mermaid? Since when was she working with Zane? Could Cleo and Emma be right, was Zane just out to get the mermaid at whatever cost necessary? Before Rikki could say anything to him, he was out of earshot. She sighed and went back into her stall to change out of her suit and inform the girls of the latest development in regards to Dr. Denman. Cleo was right, her eyes were too close together.

Chapter Text

Chapter 19: Zane's Victory (Part 2)

Zane Bennett woke up stretched across his king-sized bed. He inhaled the scent of the sheets knowing the maid had cleaned them yesterday. He would have had to help his dad set up for an upcoming gala if he hadn't woken up early and snuck out of his home the day before. Instead he meet up with his girlfriend, Rikki, and rode their bikes on the motocross track.

Today was the day of the city tournament. Zane had won the past year but this year felt different, more high stakes. He had been training for the last several weeks and he felt confident he could repeat his victory, especially since he had been training with Rikki. He knew she was the best racer in Gold Coast and would probably solidify a victory over him if she hadn't been unfairly knocked out of the tournament last round.

He was also closer to answers on the mermaid he had been hunting for the past few months. Dr. Denman had come into town with tools and knowledge that far surpassed his. He was sure the two of them working together would find the mermaid in no time. She had called him a few days ago to let him know she had found a cell sample that turned its entire form upon contact with water. It was possible it belonged to the mermaid. Zane had never thought the mermaid could be on the surface as well.

Today, or at least this morning, wasn't about the mermaid. Zane jumped out of bed and ran to the nearby race tracks. The final race was at Henry's so he would at least have home field advantage. He walked out of the his house and over to the track. It was already flooded with people, some of whom cheered him on as he walked in. The cheers couldn't compare to those Rikki received when she would walk into a race. He supposed a few months back, he would have been jealous but now he felt proud to have a girlfriend who was loved by so many.

Speak of the devil, Zane found her leaning against the frame of his bike as he walked into his stall.

"Hey," he said to her as he walked into the stall, wrapping an arm around her and giving her a kiss.

"Someone's in a good mood." Rikki said.

"Yeah, well I've got a good feeling about today." Zane told her.

"Yeah?" Rikki asked him.

"Yeah, I do." He replied as he went to inspect his bike.

"I already checked your bike over." Rikki told him. "You can double check me if you want but you should be good to go."

"You're the amazing, you know that?" Zane said.

"I've been told." Rikki replied. "Look, um... I'm here with Jack today. We got quite a bit of attention when we walked in so if you would like me to leave I-"

"Why in the world would I not want you to be here?" Zane asked.

"Well, I didn't want to distract you." Rikki said.

"Don't worry about it, Rikki." Zane said. She was quite the silly girl. "I want you here more than anyone else. Besides if anyone gets more attention than me today, it should be you. You're the best racer in the area, as far as I'm concerned."

"Thank you." Rikki said. "I'm going to go take my seat, I just wanted to wish you luck before you went out there."

"Thanks," Zane said. "I appreciate it."

Rikki gave him a smile before she walked off. Zane noticed once she was in view of the crowd, they went crazy. He could tell Rikki was surprised by the response and it made him laugh. She deserved every bit of love and praise she got although he guessed she wasn't at all used to it. She gave an awkward wave to the crowd and then disappeared behind the shop.

Zane quickly double checked his bike but was sure Rikki knew what she was doing. He hopped on and rode it out to the inspection station. He looked into the crowd and saw people were starting to take their seats. He noticed Rikki was sat by Jack Wilson on the seats at crowd level. He smiled to himself, hoping she'd be one of the first people he could celebrate with if he did win.

"Is that girl really being recruited by Jack Wilson?" Zane heard a voice from behind him. "Man, the guy really has fallen. If he would recruit her, he'd definitely be interested in me."

Zane turned around as he felt his blood start to boil. He wondered who could be talking about Rikki like that. He wasn't surprised when he saw it was Luke Williamson.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, mate." Zane told the boy near him.

"Really now?" Luke said turning his attention to Zane. "I'll have you remember, I did beat her in the last race."

"You're lucky you didn't get ejected for that." Zane said.

"Oh, come on, Bennett!" Luke said. "Accidents happen. You really have gone soft this year, haven't you? No dirty tricks? Really, mate?"

"No tricks," Zane replied. "I figured if a girl can beat me in a race without using them, I could beat some scum like you without them."

"Big words." Luke replied. "This isn't a school assembly. The bitch got what was coming to her."

That was all Zane needed to throw the other boy against a nearby tree. He was about to swing in his face when he felt someone pull him off of Luke.

"Don't do it, boy." He heard Henry say as he restrained him.

"You didn't hear what he said about-" Zane started.

"I heard him loud and clear." Henry said as he turned Zane around so he faced the older man. "You know if you start a fight with him, you'll be disqualified. You think that's what Rikki would want?"

Zane didn't realize until then his little scuffle with Luke had drawn the attention from nearly everyone. Zane looked to where Rikki was sitting and saw she had also stood up and appeared to be wondering what was going on. Henry was right, yet again. Rikki would be so disappointed if he got himself disqualified from the race.

"Just stay away from him for now." Henry said. "What you do on your own time is your business."

Zane smiled to himself. He had all the more motivation to win now, if only for Rikki's honor. Zane took Henry's advice and walked away from Luke until he needed to return to the finish line. Zane and Luke would be racing right next to each other, he needed to block the other boy out completely if he had a shot at winning this thing.

Zane jumped back on his bike and rode it to the starting line. He ignored whatever trash Luke was feeding to him. Zane had blocked him out so well, he was sure if someone put a gun to his head and told him to tell them what Luke was saying or get shot, he would be dead. Soon all the other competitors had lined up in their starting positions and got ready to race. The whistle was blown and Zane took off.

Zane and Luke took the early lead. Zane had a feeling no matter what, it would come down to him and Luke this year. Zane tried to stay as far away from Luke so he wouldn't try to pull any dirty tricks but that let Luke take the inside turn. Zane cursed to himself after they hit the first turn and Luke came up in first place. Zane made the mistake of trying to outrun him when he knew there was a hill coming up. That only made him fall back more. He was trying not to let his emotions get to him, he'd explode and not even medal. He tried to think clearly but it was as if his logical side had been switched off and his emotional side was the only one working. Zane knew he'd need a miracle if he was going to beat Luke in this race.

Rikki watched the race as Zane started falling further and further behind. She couldn't tell what had been going on at the inspection site earlier but she wondered if it had to do with Zane. She wondered if someone said something bad about her and he lost it. He couldn't let his emotions get the best of him, not today. Rikki couldn't imagine participating in a race when she was angry. She practiced a few times in a sour mood and she knew that resulted in her worst performances. Zane couldn't be doing this, not now.

Rikki and Jack were sitting close to the finish line. She wondered if she could get away with a thought that had just come into her mind without being too obvious. Maybe it wasn't the most fair thing but it's not like Luke had been at all fair to her the last time she raced him. He deserved a taste of his own medicine.

As Luke came by, Rikki locked eyes with his front tire and squeezed her hand as nonchalantly as possible. In seconds, his tire had doubled in size and he was forced to slow down. Right before he crossed the finish line, the tire exploded, sending Luke off of his bike. Rikki saw Zane pass him and cross the finish line first. Luke was getting on his bike by the time the last racer finished.

Rikki ducked under the rope that separated her chair from the track and sprinted over to Zane. He had just removed his helmet when she flung herself into his arms. He gave her a kiss as soon as she flew into his arms. Rikki would usually be embarrassed at kissing someone in such a public area. They were right by the reporters and she heard their cameras flash nearly as quickly as they had when Zane had crossed the finish line.

"You did it!" Rikki told him, reminding her of the first race in the city tournament when they both advanced.

"I did!" Zane exclaimed. "I- I don't know how but I did!"

Rikki laughed as he swooped her in another hug. He let go and pushed past her without another word. He gave handshakes and claps on the back with the other boys in the race and Henry. She supposed he had a lot to celebrate.

"What are you doing here?" Rikki heard. She hadn't even registered Luke had walked by her. "I wouldn't be here if I were you."

"Hm, I guess that's just one of the many ways we differ." Rikki said.

"You didn't even finish the last race." Luke spat at her.

"Luke!" She heard Zane yell, the excitement that was previously in his tone replaced with anger. "Stay away from her!"

"It's fine." Rikki told Zane as she put a hand up to him as if she were requesting a wild horse to stop a stampede. "We were just finishing up anyway.

"You barely finished this race, so I don't see how that makes you so much better than me." Rikki replied. "Now, shoo. I don't have time for the likes of you."

Zane smiled to himself as Rikki so expertly handled the bully. He reckoned Will and Luke weren't the first guys that had teased or bullied her for being in motocross, nor would they be the last. He hated that for her but he deeply admired how tough and independent it made her.

"We were going to celebrate at the JuiceNet if you want to come." Zane told her.

"I wouldn't miss it." Rikki told him.

Rikki was meant to meet Emma, Cleo and Lewis at the cafe anyway. She split her time between Zane's party and her friends that sat further away. They had been invited to join by both Zane and by Nate, who also seemed to be practicing karate. They were discussing something very, very important and top secret.

Emma was about to mention how much she hated their mermaid life when Dr. Denman had walked in. She pulled Lewis aside and the three girls watched with as much interest as they possibly could without being too obvious. Lewis returned to their table a moment later with a bit of a down look on his face.

"What was that?" Rikki asked.

"What did she want?" Emma asked next.

"Do you think she's pretty?" Cleo asked her boyfriend before apologizing.

"She's found some evidence." Lewis told them.

"How?" Emma replied. "I thought you said she wasn't looking for us?"

Rikki sighed to herself, knowing she had hidden Zane's phone call from the group. He hadn't brought it up since so she hadn't thought it was anything to worry about. Now, she wasn't so sure.

Rikki followed Dr. Denman out of the cafe with her eyes. She was surprised when she saw Zane exit the cafe in tow of the doctor. Rikki furrowed her eyebrows and then excused herself from the group to see if she could follow them. She watched as the two walked off, clearly in conversation. Rikki couldn't pick up what they were saying or even read their body language. Neither seemed too upset or excited though so Rikki reckoned that was a good sign. She snuck back into the cafe and rejoined her friends, simply saying Zane and Dr. Denman had both exited the restaurant for separate reasons.

Rikki met up with Zane later on in the day. She guessed he had a long, exhausting day and past few weeks training for the tournament. She thought if he left the juice bar, he probably wouldn't be at the track. She thought he might be at his house. She was lucky that day and managed to avoid Harrison and found him hopping out of the pool.

"Hey," Rikki announced herself.

"Hey," Zane replied as he dried his hair off with a towel. Rikki did her best to stay as far away from him as possible.

"I saw you talking with that marine biologist earlier." Rikki told him. There was no use to have any small talk.

"Jealous?" Zane asked her with a cocky smile.

"No, just curious." Rikki replied.

"She's conducting research," Zane replied. "Counting fish, that sort of thing. She thought she found an unusual cell sample but she told me this afternoon that didn't go anywhere."

"Really?" Rikki replied. "I heard she was onto something big."

Rikki didn't know what possessed her to say that. It seemed to catch Zane's attention though. Rikki cursed herself, thinking maybe Lewis was Denman's last resort. It seemed Dr. Denman wasn't on to anything anymore, Lewis had been right. She couldn't link that cell sample to Rikki or any of the girls. Not yet anyway.

"What?" Zane asked her. "She told me she didn't find anything else. What have you heard?"

"Nothing," Rikki replied. "I'm probably wrong anyway, just forget about it."

"I knew it, she's trying to rip me off." Zane said. "She knows something about the mermaid."

"Oh, Zane, why can't you just let that go?" Rikki asked.

"Because it's real, Rikki. That's why." Zane shot back.

"Well, it's old now and I'm sick of hearing about it." Rikki told him. "Why can't you find something more useful to do with your time?"

"You know, you are just like my father!" Zane told her. "No one ever believes me."

"Maybe there's a reason for that." Rikki didn't know what possessed her to say that either. That was a low blow and she knew it. She saw Zane's face turn to anger for not the first time today.

"I think you should go." Zane told her, keeping his lips as tight as possible.

"Zane-" Rikki tried.

"Just leave!" Zane yelled at her. "I don't want to see you around here anymore."

Chapter Text

Chapter 20: Rikki's Confession

Rikki was sitting on the edge of Emma's bed, ignoring the other two girls and Lewis, thinking about her argument with Zane earlier that day. It had hurt her much more than she cared to admit. A part of her wanted to tell him everything but a part of her held herself back. The part of her that valued her friendship with Cleo and Emma above anything else. Decisions were easy to make when that part of her was at the driver's seat. That was why she had kept the secret from Zane when he held the dripping, wet locket out for her and all those times he asked her to come out on the Zodiac to search for the mermaid with him. Since Denman was in town, she found a different side of her taking charge. It was a more primal side, a side that took over during fight or flight situations. Even though they were dating (or were they still?), Rikki wouldn't describe Zane as trustworthy, at least not trustworthy enough to share their secret with him. She also knew if it came down to it, she'd rather have Zane find out their secret opposed to Dr. Denman. Dr. Denman was a well respected scientist in her field. If she could prove mermaids existed, she'd have plenty of people to share it with. If Zane didn't want to keep the secret, Rikki would be devastated but she and the girls could handle even his worst threats. Who did he know that mattered? Maybe Dr. Denman but there was a chance she was reluctant to share the truth with him.

Rikki wondered if Cleo's and Emma's feelings had changed. Denman was getting close to the truth. She had found one of their scales in the moon pool, which didn't directly connect her to mermaids but clearly she knew it was weird. Why else would Denman pull Lewis aside in the cafe? Would it just be easier for the girls to tell Zane the truth? In the best case scenario, he'd stop pushing Denman to pursue the mermaids. Worst case scenario... Zane and Denman teaming up seemed like the end of the world.

Rikki hardly registered her name but turned around to see the gang looking at her.

"Are you all right?" Emma asked her.

"Yeah," Rikki replied at first before changing her mind. "Um, actually no I'm not."

"What's wrong?" Cleo asked her, sympathy swimming in her eyes.

"It just feels like someone is going to find out we're mermaids." Rikki started. "Would you rather that be Zane or Denman?"

Emma let out a large exhale and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I don't want anyone to find out, Rikki."

"Well, yeah me too but I'm just saying," Rikki started again. "It looks like there's a good chance one of them finds out. I think there's an easy choice if that's the case."

"That's fair." Cleo responded, looking between the icy and fiery mermaids.

"You're on her side?" Emma asked her friend.

"I'm not on anyone's side." Cleo said as she held her hands up and backed away from the girls, joining Lewis in the corner.

"What happened to the girl who stole Zane's Zodiac when she first moved here?" Emma asked.

"I'm sorry, am I supposed to be held to every first judgement I make?" Rikki asked. "That was months ago, Emma. He and I have both changed."

"Zane would sell us out for a new bike and you know it." Emma told her.

"He already has the newest bike there is, why would he sell us out just to get what he has back?" Rikki asked.

"You know what I mean." Emma said. "Zane's always been a prideful, money- hungry rich boy. You know he'll just drag you to the JuiceNet and expose you as soon as he finds out."

The two girls argued for hours. Emma's mum had come to check on them a few times to make sure everything was okay. They both played it off as if there was nothing going on until Lisa had left. Rikki even heard Cleo and Lewis asked each other if they should leave a handful of times.

Emma finally sighed and flopped on her bed. "Rikki, it's late. You should all be heading home now."

"Not until you let me tell Zane about us." Rikki said. "I won't let you sleep until you say 'yes'."

"Why do you need my approval anyway?" Emma asked. "Why don't you just tell him?"

"You think I would do that without consulting either of you?" Rikki asked, glancing between Emma and Cleo. "It's not just for me to tell, I wouldn't want you guys to tell someone I didn't like."

Emma looked between the two girls. Cleo shrugged but Rikki held her ground. This was important to her.

"Fine." Emma said. "You better call Lewis if something goes wrong."

"Wait, why is it-" Lewis started to whine.

"Of course." Rikki replied. "Don't worry, Lewis. I doubt I'll need you."

Rikki took off to Zane's home. She looked at her watch and saw it was nearing midnight. Emma had been right, it was getting late. Rikki didn't realize she argued in Zane's honor so much. She'd be pissed if he didn't take her confession well.

Rikki climbed up the trellis she knew was close to Zane's room. He had told Rikki his dad slept on the other side of the house so Rikki was thankful she didn't have to be too quiet. He had pointed out his bedroom window when she had first come to his house for the luncheon and he had an easy to find spot, the first window to the right. Rikki successfully walked across the roof to Zane's window. His curtains were closed but there was still a light on. She guessed he was still awake. She questioned it but then thanked her stars. It would be so much more difficult to get his attention if he was asleep.

She started tapping on his window. He came over after a few seconds and opened his curtains to see her but closed them once he realized who it was. She continued tapping on the window until he returned, opening the window this time.

"I thought I told you I didn't want to see you around here anymore, Rikki." Zane said.

"You did." Rikki replied. "I have something really important to tell you. Well, show you I guess."

"Can't it wait until morning?" Zane asked.

"I told you, it's important." Rikki said.

Zane shook his head and started to close his window. Rikki knew she'd have to catch him quick.

"It's about the mermaid!" Rikki exclaimed. She felt her heart start to race.

"What?" Zane asked. "What do you know about the mermaid?"

"A fair bit, actually." Rikki said. "I'm sorry I haven't told you until now I just... I don't know, I needed to figure out if I trusted you."

Zane sighed and shook his head again. Rikki wondered if he was going to close the window on her again.

"Fine." Zane finally said. "I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes."

"All right," Rikki replied with a smile. "Oh, and bring a torch!"

Zane gave her an odd look and closed the window and the curtain. Rikki climbed back down the trellis and waited outside of his home. She hoped he didn't change his mind and just decide to stay home. Her worries were dismissed as she saw Zane exit his home, carrying a torch. It was dark outside, it would be hard to see her in the water.

"So what is it?" Zane asked her once he had approached her.

"Come to the beach with me." Rikki said. "I need to show you something."

Rikki grabbed Zane's arm and lead him to the nearby beach. She felt he was still a bit resistant and she couldn't say she blamed him. She had aimed low earlier today, she was just happy he was trusting her enough to let her drag him out to the beach in the middle of the night. It didn't take long for them to reach the sand of the beach.

"I'm sorry about earlier today." Rikki told him. "I shouldn't have said that to you."

"It's okay," Zane said as he looked down at his feet and then back to her. "Maybe you guys were right, maybe I was just seeing things. Maybe mermaids don't exist."

"They exist." Rikki told him. Zane gave her with a confused look and she kicked her shoes off.

"How would you know-" Zane started.

"It's what I came to show you." Rikki cut him off. She walked to the water but turned around and gave Zane a kiss on his cheek before heading back to the shore.

Rikki felt the cool water cover her feet and she knew there would be no turning back. Not unless she ran out of the water and set herself on fire with her powers. Oddly enough, she found she didn't want to turn back. This all felt right, she wanted to do this. She turned around to face Zane, just as she felt the familiar feeling of her body turning into water and spitting her back out in her mermaid form. She did seem to forget she couldn't stand as a mermaid so she flopped on the sand, rather ungracefully in front of the great mermaid hunter.

Zane flashed his torch in her direction. Something had happened to Rikki but he couldn't see what in the darkness. Once he took in her orange tail he had seen more than once before, Zane's mouth was open like a gaping fish. Rikki wished he would say or do something. Even pulling his phone out and taking pictures of her would be a better reaction than this. At least then she could tell what his intentions were. The only thing she could pick up from this reaction was shock.

"Say something." Zane heard the girl in front of his request. Or rather the mermaid in front of him.

The mermaid he had been hunting for months now had been right under his nose the whole time. It had been Rikki all along. Wait, that didn't add up, Rikki didn't have red hair. Was it possible she dyed it? Could there be more than one mermaid out there? Zane supposed that was more than possible, it was likely. There was no way Rikki could be the only one.

He registered her request again. Say something. What was he supposed to say? She was a mermaid. She had all the answers he had been looking for and she simply chose not to share that with him. He was angry with her at first but he saw the nervousness in her eyes and realized she was scared. She was scared of his reaction to this secret she likely held closer to her than all others.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Zane asked. He knew it wasn't the most sensitive question but she had plenty of opportunities to let him know.

"I told you, I needed to make sure I could trust you." Rikki replied. "Besides, it's not just my secret to share."

He knew there were others. "Who else?"

"I don't think it's too hard to figure out." Rikki said. "Two other mermaids? One so resistant to you throwing her in the pool at Miriam's party, the other quitting the swim team after training all her life. Did you ever wonder why they acted the way they did?"

It was Cleo and Emma. Zane reckoned that made sense. In addition to the things Rikki he mentioned, the three girls were attached to each other at the hip. When Rikki wasn't with him, she was with Cleo and Emma.

"How?" Zane asked next. He knew this hadn't been with them all of their lives. He had known Emma since they were three years old and swam in a pool with her many times. He thought he would notice if she grew a tail.

"Funny enough, it was the night I stole your Zodiac." Rikki told him. Zane eyes widened at the confession. "Cleo and I picked Emma up after her swim practice and we rode it out to sea. We ran out of petrol so we paddled to Mako Island in hopes we could get a cell phone signal or something. We tried to get to higher ground when Cleo fell through a hole and Emma and I followed after her. We ended up inside the volcano where there was this pool that lead out to the sea. We took it but not before the full moon came over the opening and changed us to... this."

Rikki gestured to her long, orange tail behind her. It was a pretty crazy story but Zane didn't know what he expected. Maybe some Spider-Man type story where they were bit by a fish. He didn't know if he would believe her if she wasn't sitting in front of him in her mermaid form.

"Who saved me?" Zane asked next.

"Which time?" Rikki replied with a hint of a smile.

"You three have saved me more than once?" Zane asked.

"Yes," Rikki said. "I think the time you're talking about, the one on Ms. Chatham's boat, was Emma. She's also the one you saw off of her boat a few weeks ago. She dyed her hair.

"As for me, there was a reason I knew you were almost mauled by Mako Sharks when you went to break your dad's record."

Zane furrowed his brows at her. "How did you save me from the sharks?"

"Like this." Rikki replied. She pulled herself out of the water before flipping on her back. She squeezed her hand into a fist and Zane saw the water on her tail steam up and soon she was dry and back in her human form. She stood up and turned her attention back to him.

"I made the water boil." Rikki said, looking down at her hand. "You remember the bubbling water around you?"

Zane thought back to that moment and realized she was right. He had been so thankful he didn't make for the shark's dinner, he didn't bother to wonder where the ring of hot bubbles had come from. They hated each other at the time but Rikki had been good enough to save his life.

"Thank you." Zane said.

"Of course," Rikki replied as she started to walk along the deserted beach. "I reckon you would have done the same for me."

"Yeah, I suppose so." Zane said as he followed her. "So were you worried?"

"Worried about what?" Rikki asked. Since she had become a mermaid, Rikki had been worried about a lot of things at various times.

"Worried I'd turn you into Denman." Zane said. "Or someone like her."

"For a while," Rikki replied. "I wouldn't have told you I was a mermaid if I thought you'd turn me in, now would I?"

"That's true." Zane said. "I'm sorry if I gave you any idea that I would harm you or the others. You know I wouldn't have done anything intentionally."

"I know," Rikki said. "But speaking of that, would you mind not hanging around that marine biologist? Just for our sake?"

"I can," Zane started. "But that won't stop her from pursuing you."

"Well, she can't stay here and hunt mermaids for forever." Rikki replied. "We'll just stay away from the water around her. Same as we do with everyone."

"Maybe." Zane said. "I won't talk to her, I promise."

"Thank you." Rikki said.

The pair continued to walk in the darkness for a little while longer. Zane asked the all questions he had about mermaids and Rikki did her best to answer them. She had been a mermaid for a while now and knew a good bit about it but there were still plenty of things she didn't know or didn't have an answer to. Rikki didn't know how long she and Zane walked along the shore and talked about her mermaid life. She was always so closed up, very to herself. She often found even when she did want to open up or cry for help, she couldn't but Zane made everything easy.

"So any other weird, mermaid phenomena I should know about?" Zane asked her after she told him about the full moon and the night of their first kiss.

"Well, there was an incident earlier today." Rikki told him. "Or I guess yesterday at the tournament."

"Really?" Zane asked.

"Yeah," Rikki replied. "I suppose everyone hates Luke enough to not even wonder why his tire exploded."

Zane furrowed his eyebrows in thought before he came to realize what she had done. "You mean... you blew up his tire?"

"It wasn't for you, just so you know." Rikki said. "I would have done it if you were in last place too, I just didn't want that asshole to win."

"Remind me not to piss you off." Zane laughed. "Speaking of that, where do you stand on your motocross deal?"

"I don't know." Rikki sighed, looking out to the water. "Honestly, it's a great deal. I like Jack and Aaron. I just..."

"Don't want to ruin everything here?" Zane finished for her with a knowing smile.

"A lot can happen in six months." Rikki told him. "I mean Cleo and Emma could find a new mermaid friend, who knows what Lewis is going to do and you could..."

"I could what?" Zane asked.

"Do you think we'd be able to hold together a relationship just over phone calls and text messages for six months?" Rikki asked. "I know your dad doesn't like me, it's not like he'll take you to Sydney to see me for the weekend and I can't leave training. Not to mention, I'd be the only mermaid there. I'd have to fend for myself and-"

"You can come up with excuses all you want, this is the opportunity of a lifetime." Zane cut her off. "I know all of that is important to you but you've been training in motocross all your life and now you have a chance to potentially go pro, earn a good bit of money, maybe help your dad out. I can't tell you what to do but I'd take the deal if I were you."

"What about Emma and Cleo?" Rikki asked.

"I'm sure they'll still be here and still be mermaids when you come back." Zane told her. "Even if they add another mermaid friend or something, I'm sure they'll welcome you just the same."

"What about you?" Rikki asked. "What about us?"

"I...don't know." Zane replied. "I'd be willing to try and prove you wrong. Maybe we can survive on phone calls and text messages for six months. If not, we could always see where we stand when you get back."

"I'll be back for another six months, Zane." Rikki replied. "Then I go back to train in Sydney for six months. Not to mention, I'd have to leave town for any tournament or competitions. That's not fair to either of us."

"I suppose not." Zane said. "I... I guess I just don't want you to sacrifice all of this for me. It's a great opportunity and if I'm really the only thing that's holding you back... I'd be willing to sacrifice our relationship for you to live out your dream."

Rikki let out a teary chuckle in response. "You know, I prepared myself for a break up bringing you out here but I didn't think this would be how it would happen."

"Yeah," Zane replied, swallowing a lump in his throat and standing. "Well, if the deal doesn't work out, I'll be here."

"Thank you," Rikki replied, throwing herself into his arms. They simply held each other for a while, not saying anything, just holding onto the last moments of their time as boyfriend and girlfriend.

"Friends?" Rikki offered as she extended her hand to shake his.

"Friends." Zane replied, taking her hand in his own. "Come on, I'll walk you home."

"Can friends do that?" Rikki asked.

"Of course," Zane said. "Besides, who really cares? We'll create our own rules."

Chapter Text

Chapter 21: Rikki and Zane's Lives Apart and Together

Zane slept in late the next day. He and Rikki were out on the beach until the sun rose. Her trailer park was intimidating to him but he found himself wandering around the area for a few hours after he left her at her doorstep, wondering if he had done the right thing. The feelings he had towards Rikki couldn't come close to anything he had ever felt toward anyone else, did he just throw away the best thing that had ever happened to him? He knew he had done as much but he also knew she needed to take this opportunity.

Zane had just poured himself a glass of juice when he noticed the slightly crumpled newspaper on the breakfast nook table. He picked it up to see if there was anything in there about him winning the city tournament again or Rikki's deal. He held his breath as he realized it had mentioned both with a big picture of the pair kissing right after he had won. Zane flipped the paper face down onto the table and went back up to his room. He wouldn't leave for the rest of the day.

Rikki moved to Sydney a few months ago and she would say she was enjoying her time. She loved working with Aaron, he had a lot of great tips and advice for her. She had just placed second at her pro debut and would be in another race next week. She was glad she and Zane broke up when they did, this sort of relationship wouldn't be fair to him. She barely had time to talk to the girls but they did inform her Denman had left Gold Coast about a week after Rikki did. Things seemed to be going well for everyone back home.

Rikki had come back to her apartment at 2:00 that night. She had spent hours training and then had to do her school work. She checked her phone to see Zane had texted her and tried to call her a few times. She had forgotten she said she would call him tonight. She sighed feeling too exhausted to start an argument with him. She wished she could just go to sleep but her phone rang yet again.

"What?" She replied, answering the device not bothering to check the caller ID.

"What do you mean, 'what'?" She heard Zane's voice on the other end. "You said we would talk tonight and I've been waiting by the phone for hours."

"Sorry, it's just been a long day." Rikki said.

"That's what you said the last time." Zane replied. "And the time before that."

"I'm exhausted, Zane can we please just do this another time?" Rikki asked.

"Oh, so you'll make time for your mermaid soul sisters but not me?" Zane retorted. "They told me you talked to them, I know."

"It's just bad timing, I promise I'm not trying to screw you over." Rikki said.

"All right, fine." Zane replied with a heavy sigh. "I'll talk to you another time then... maybe."

Rikki sighed heavily too. This was exactly what she was afraid of. She didn't have time to spend with all the people that mattered to her. She had been lucky she got a few minutes with Cleo and Emma. She loved training but was she really willing to sacrifice her friends and family to pursue this training? Not for the first time, Rikki wished this offer hadn't been presented to her during the best time of her life.

Zane had been racing around Henry's track with Nate when he saw her ride in to the track for the first time in six months. He tossed his helmet on his handlebars and wrapped her up in a hug. It felt so good to hold her again. She felt different, stronger, more muscular. He reckoned that made sense, she probably wasn't just running lap after lap around the track in Sydney. Zane was doing his best to keep up with her career and knew she had a few victories under her belt already.

"So I'm guessing you got your stall back, Nate?" Rikki asked the other boy.

"Yep," Nate replied. In some ways, it was as if Rikki had never come to the track. "Why? Do you want to race for it?"

"Come on, Nate." Zane started. "You couldn't take her six months ago, what makes you think you could take her now? I'll race you though."

"So I could get both stalls for six months?" Rikki said. "Interesting concept but I don't need it. I don't just want one for six months at a time. But, if you want to race for fun, I'll take you both on."

Zane and Nate nodded at each other before accepting her deal. The three lined up at the starting line. They brought a man over to count them down but it didn't really matter. Rikki had taken her helmet off before the two boys had crossed the finish line.

It was the day of her first national race. She remembered the city tournament heats and how those would pale in comparison to the heats she had competed in to get to this moment. Still here she was, barely sixteen and up for a national championship. She had an one in eight chance of winning this. The girls, rather women, she was competing with had been here plenty of times before but this would be her first time in a race this caliber. To say she was nervous would be an understatement.

Rikki looked out into the crowd as she approached the start line and saw all of her friends and her dad sitting in the stands. She smiled and felt a little comforted. Aaron had given her quite the pep talk before she went out onto the track too. She just had to do what she did every time, block everything out. She was only sixteen, if she didn't win today, she'd had plenty of time to come back and prove her place. The only thing was she found she wanted to win now.

A shotgun rang around the field and she and the other racers took off. Rikki was able to position herself at the front of the pack. She didn't know what to make of that, it wasn't a position she usually took. She realized she didn't have time to think about that, she needed to hold her position from start to finish. She was able to get a few bikes-length on the other girls before the first turn. She had been working with Aaron on keeping her speed in the turns so she didn't slow down all that much anymore. The hills were even easy to keep at the same speed. On the last hill, Rikki took a moment to let her brain slip back into reality. She looked behind her and saw no one there. The crowd was going wild, the announcer saying something about a sixteen year old winning. Rikki knew a victory would be in her near future as long as a mermaid didn't blow up her tire. She crossed the finish line and felt tears coming to her eyes. The happiest tears she ever felt.

Rikki removed her helmet and walked in a general direction. She didn't know where she was going or who she was looking for, she just needed to do something in fear she would wake up on the floor of the trailer in Gold Coast, listening to her parents argue. Aaron was the first to great her. He shook her shoulders as if she was in a trance. He yelled words of encouragement to her, as if he was trying to help her confirm this was real.

Rikki saw her friends and father run out of the stands. Zane was the first to reach her, wrapping her up in a hug. This seemed to be a bit of a tradition of theirs and she couldn't say she was upset about it.

"You did it!" He told her once they back away. She laughed at him, knowing that's exactly what he was going to say.

"I-I did!" Rikki exclaimed back. "I don't know how but I did!"

She jumped back in a hug with him. She felt other hands pat her on the back and she knew she would have to celebrate with her friends as well. Instead, Jack all but pulled her out of her hug with Zane, letting her know she needed to talk to the press.

"Who was that guy you were hugging after your win?" One of the reporters had asked her. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"No," Rikki replied, trying to hide her blush. "No, he's just a friend."

Zane was seventeen when he started dating Sophie. Rikki was training in Sydney when a new girl with a sassy attitude and red hair had moved to Gold Coast. She and Zane got on well and the once player hadn't dated anyone since Rikki. He reckoned he should accept that ship sailed when he encouraged her to pursue her motocross career. He couldn't simply wait around for her and he would feel horrible if she gave up the great career she had for him. She was only seventeen and a two-time national champion with her whole career ahead of her.

Zane and Sophie had spent all day together. They met up at the beach, splashing each other with water in the waves. Zane knew he couldn't do this with Rikki. He hadn't seen her in her mermaid form too often, just enough to be used to it now. After their day on the beach, they went to the JuiceNet to grab a snack and a juice. They were the last ones to leave. Sophie had excused herself to use the bathroom then they would head home. As soon as Sophie had stood, Zane caught eyes with Rikki. He had forgotten she was meant to return today.

"Rikki," he said as she stood from his table. He approached her at the entrance and gave her a hug. "Hey, sorry I forgot you were coming in today."

"It's okay." Rikki replied in a hushed voice. She looked like someone had just smacked her across the face.

"Is anything wrong?" Zane asked.

"Hm? No," she replied after a moment. "No, I... I thought I'd meet up with you at the track but you weren't there. I thought I'd see if I could get a juice before they closed."

"Oh... okay." Zane said as he let her walk by. Rikki ordered her usual with Wilfred. There was a tension lingering between the two. Zane knew Rikki was lying when she said nothing was wrong. This had to be about Sophie.

"So who's the girl?" Rikki asked before Zane could open his mouth.

"I- her name's Sophie." Zane said. "She's my girlfriend."

"O-oh," Rikki replied as Wilfred handed her her juice. "I mean, yeah, of course."

"Rikki..." Zane started.

"All right, I'm all set." Zane heard the girl's voice from the bathrooms. Sophie caught a glance at Rikki who looked to be rooted in her spot. "Who's this?"

"Um, Sophie this is Rikki." Zane said introducing his girlfriend to his ex-girlfriend.

"Oh, you're Rikki!" Sophie exclaimed. "Zane's told me so much about you."

"Yeah, I'm sure." Rikki replied. "Look, not to be rude but I've got to get going. Early morning training and all."

"Right," Sophie said. "Zane told me you were a national champion in motocross. That's amazing!"

"Not as impressive as it seems." Rikki said. "I'll catch you guys later."

Rikki spent a majority of her time at the track but she always made sure to make time for swims with her mermaid friends. Riding her bike used to be her way to relieve stress or just think. She supposed in a way it still was but she had to think about so many things at times. If she was swimming through the ocean, she didn't have to give much of anything a thought.

Rikki and Cleo surfaced in the moon pool after discovering a new reef. They had been swimming around Mako for two years and were still finding new things every day. Being a mermaid had its downsides and caused some challenges in the girl's lives but ultimately, they wouldn't change it for the world.

"That was fantastic." Cleo mused as she flipped onto her back and stretched out in the moon pool.

"It was." Rikki said as she sat on one of the ledges on the right side of the pool. "Thanks for coming out here with me."

"Of course," Cleo replied. "It's not like you have many people you could invite out here."

"Fair enough." Rikki replied. She would have invited Emma too but the third mermaid was on holiday with her family.

"So, anything in particular on your mind?" Cleo asked.

"You first." Rikki said.

Cleo was opposite Rikki in many ways. For one, when someone asked Cleo what was on her mind, she didn't bother holding back. Rikki simply listened as Cleo mused about her dad's new girlfriend, how annoying Kim was and this and that about Lewis. Rikki was happy Cleo and Lewis had finally admitted their feelings to each other and their dating life seemed to be going on swimmingly but it did make her miss what she had with Zane. If Cleo had protested and asked Rikki to talk about what was on her mind first, she would have talked about her feelings towards Zane as vaguely as possible. Rikki didn't want Cleo interfering with Rikki's business, especially not now with someone like Sophie in the picture. It would be so much easier if Sophie was a bitch or wasn't right for Zane at all but the pair seemed genuinely happy. Rikki couldn't tear that apart.

"What about you?" Cleo asked. "You look like you've been thinking."

Rikki sighed as she tried to voice her thoughts. She didn't want Cleo to know exactly what she was thinking about.

"Do you think my feelings are valid?" Rikki asked.

"What are you talking about?" Cleo asked. "Of course they are."

"Well, yeah I guess so." Rikki replied. "It's just... complicated."

"How so?" Cleo asked.

Rikki was silent for a while. She needed to think of a way to word her thoughts without giving away her remaining feelings for Zane. Rikki must have been quiet for too long as Cleo gasped. Rikki looked at her in confusion.

"You still have feelings for Zane." Cleo guessed correctly. Shit, either Cleo knew Rikki too well or Rikki had been behaving far too obviously. Rikki remained silent, neither confirming or denying her friend's accusation.

"You should tell him." Cleo said.

"What?" Rikki asked. "It's not that simple, Cleo. He has a girlfriend, you know."

"How is it not simple?" Cleo repeated back. "I'm not saying to break them up, I'm just saying you should be honest. If I hadn't told Lewis how I felt, he'd probably still be with Charlotte."

Rikki ran her tongue over her teeth, trying to decide if the other mermaid was correct in her thoughts. On one hand, having Zane acknowledge her feelings could be a relief. Maybe he would feel similarly and dump Sophie. On the other hand, maybe he wouldn't feel the same. Maybe he would but he would be angry with her because they both knew they couldn't be together. Nothing had changed, Rikki still spilt her time between Gold Coast and Sydney. It was a bad idea but Rikki couldn't find that she cared. There was a possibility Zane would come running back to her, she couldn't pass that up.

The two girls left the moon pool shortly after. Rikki wasn't training today so she hoped she could find Zane at the juice bar or out on his boat. He wasn't in the cafe so she went out to the docks to see if she could find him on the red Zodiac. She would have to wait if she couldn't find him and she didn't know if she would want to do this in a few hours. She hoped she could find him now.

"Rikki!" She heard a girl call her name. Rikki turned around to see Sophie running up to her in a two piece swimsuit with a sheer coverup. Sophie wasn't just perfect for Zane, she was pretty too. It made Rikki feel all the more insecure.

"Hey," Rikki replied in a stoic tone once Sophie had reached her. "What are you doing out here?"

"Oh, Zane and I are about to go out on his Zodiac." Sophie said. "It's so fun and freeing. What about you, what are you doing out here?"

"I was um..." Rikki started. She couldn't very well tell Sophie she was going to admit her true feelings to Zane, now could she?

"I was going to see Zane too." Rikki said. "I just had to ask him about some motocross stuff."

"Oh, okay." Sophie replied as the two girls walked toward the Zodiac. Rikki noticed Sophie must have been made uncomfortable by something. What was it? Surely it wasn't Rikki going to see Zane, she had told the girl they were just talking about motocross. Unless Rikki was that bad of a liar.

"Listen, Rikki," Sophie started. "I know you and Zane used to date and I don't want to be that girlfriend that refuses to let her boyfriend hang out with people but... I have to know, do you two still have feelings for each other?"

Rikki sucked on her top lip. She didn't have a clue if Zane still had feelings for her. Probably not, he'd clearly moved on. Rikki could understand Sophie's concerns. She wouldn't want any boyfriend of hers hanging out with his ex he still had feelings for or vice versa. It wasn't a ridiculous request. Still, Rikki couldn't imagine her life without Zane in it. He was the one who helped her when she was down, he was the one who made motocross fun for her. Maybe coming out to the docks was a mistake.

"Well, I can't speak for Zane but..." Rikki started. "No, I don't have those feelings for him anymore. We just ride our bikes together, really."

"Funny." Sophie replied. "He said the same thing when I asked him if he still had feelings for you."

Rikki felt her heart drop. Zane didn't care about her as a significant other anymore. He only thought of her as a friend or maybe even less than that. Maybe she was just his trainer and nothing more. Rikki hadn't realized they had reached the spot Zane parked his Zodiac. He stepped out of the inflated boat and looked surprised to see both his girlfriend and his ex-girlfriend. Rikki wanted to laugh, she would be surprised too.

"Hey," Sophie said to Zane as she walked up and kissed his cheek. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, it's all set." Zane replied. He seemed to barely acknowledge Sophie's presence, only staring at Rikki instead. Sophie looked back to Rikki before uncomfortably stepping into the Zodiac.

"What are you doing here, Rikki?" Zane turned his attention to her.

"I um..." Rikki loved her mermaid powers, being able to heat water in an instant. Now, she found she would much rather possess the power to go invisible.

"You needed to talk about something with motocross, right Rikki?" Sophie asked from the boat. Rikki could tell the girl was on the defense.

"Right." Rikki replied, nodding her head. "It's nothing too serious though. I didn't realize you guys were going out. I'll catch you later."

"Rikki, Rikki, wait!" She heard Zane exclaim as he followed her out of Sophie's earshot. Rikki caught a glance at Sophie and Rikki could tell the red head was annoyed at the least. Zane would have some explaining to do.

"What's going on?" He asked. "It's clearly not just motocross."

"I told you, it's nothing." Rikki replied. "Not a big deal."

"You know you can tell me anything, right?" Zane asked.

Rikki sighed and looked down at her hands as if they were the most intriguing thing in the world. If only that was true. If only she could tell him she still had feelings for him and they could ride off into the sunset together.

It all happened so fast. Sophie let out a shriek and what had to have been at least a gallon of water flew up from the ocean covering both Rikki and Zane. Something must have gone wrong with his Zodiac.

"Get out of here, now." Zane had whispered to her as he pushed Rikki in front of him and climbed into the boat with Sophie. Rikki must have been spaced out as it took her a few seconds to register why Zane had been acting so quickly. Rikki's eyes widened as she found the nearest dock opening she could dive into a few meters away. She took off running, knowing she had wasted so much time already.

"Sophie, hand me that wrench." She heard Zane say. Rikki looked back right before she dove into the water. Sophie must have wondered why Rikki had taken off running out of the blue. She barely registered the girl turning around and Zane giving her a knowing smile. Rikki dove into the water, feeling herself transform almost instantly.

She sped off to Mako, knowing that's where she needed to be. She was glad she was alone and she figured Cleo was probably out with Lewis now. Rikki placed her hands on one of the ledges and took a shaky breath in and out before she felt herself completely break. She couldn't remember the last time she had cried so much, probably not since her mum left. She still found herself wondering if she had made the right decision, signing with Jack and splitting her training time between Gold Coast and Sydney. The outcome of that decision seemed obvious in times like this and when she had won her national titles. They were both such extreme highs and lows, it was hard to make a decision. Still, one thing was for certain. Zane had a girlfriend and Rikki was still insanely mad about him.

Rikki never thought much about dating since she and Zane had broken up. She never had much time for a boyfriend with motocross training and competitions. There wasn't much of a life for her to live outside of that. Still, she trained with a lot of boys and they had equally rigorous schedules. With Zane clearly having moved on maybe she should too. The only problem was all boys in motocross were dicks.

She went on a date with one guy she thought was nice and cute. The date went well, she had thought. They got Italian food for dinner and then stopped to get frozen yogurt for dessert. They lived in the same apartment complex so she didn't think anything of it when he invited her into his rented space. Rikki never loved going to the gym but she had noticed her physique became much more toned and she was stronger. For once, she was thankful for all those sessions in the gym.

Rikki ran up to her apartment trying to catch her breath, not believing what had just happened to her. For a moment, she wondered if her date would follow her to her apartment. She was shaking and couldn't stop. She couldn't catch her breath. She needed to tell someone what happened.

She ignored her first instinct and called Cleo. Her phone went straight to voicemail. Rikki reckoned she was out on a late night swim. She doubted the dark haired mermaid would go alone but she didn't want to overlook Emma based purely on suspicion. Her thoughts must have been right as Emma's phone went to voicemail too. To no surprise, her dad didn't answer his phone. Lewis wasn't the person she wanted to talk to about this but he would be better than nothing. He was her last resort, she'd have to talk to Zane if he didn't answer. Just like the rest, Lewis had his phone switched off.

"Damn it, Lewis." She swore like the rest of them. Rikki was left with no other choice. She supposed she could just keep this to herself but she had done that with all her other past trauma and look where that landed her.

There was only one ring before she heard his voice. "Hello?"

"Hi," she practically sobbed into the receiver.

"What's wrong?" She heard him say. She could tell he was on alert.

"I need someone to talk to." Rikki told him. "Are you busy?"

"No," Zane replied. "You can always talk to me."

"One more lap and then we'll call it?" Rikki had asked him. She was helping Zane train for his last city tournament race. If he won this one, he would be the first to win the race in every year of eligibility. The competition had gotten much tougher since he had first competed in the tournament and he was thankful Rikki was able to take time out of her day to help train him.

"Sure." Zane replied. "I've just got to work on that last turn. I can go faster there."

"Sure you can." Rikki said, giving him a signature eye roll before she put her helmet on.

The two took off and raced around the tracks once more. They had both improved so much since they first met, Zane could run laps around a fifteen year old Rikki now. He hit the turn coming in fast but lost control a bit at the end. Maybe he wouldn't take that turn so quickly after all.

As they got older, it became a bit of a normal routine for them to practice outside of Henry's normal track hours. The older man would usually leave the key behind for the pair before he'd take off on his own. Rikki and Zane both preferred racing around the track by themselves. Rikki spent all morning and afternoon training with her coaches and Zane would either train by himself or take part in his various other hobbies. It gave the pair time together, just the two of them. They always got on better when it was just the pair.

They parked their bikes by the shop and grabbed a pair of drinks before sitting down on the hill. It had become a bit of a tradition. They got each other unlike anyone else either had met in their lives. Sometimes their conversations turned to arguments but they could always count on one another to be honest.

"So what do you want to talk about?" Zane asked her. His life had been pretty mundane besides the training he was doing with her, which she already knew everything about.

"Whatever." Rikki replied.

"Really?" Zane asked. "Anything?"

"You can always talk to me about anything, you know." Rikki told him.

"Yeah, I know." Zane replied with a sigh. "This isn't about me though."

"Zane..." Rikki sighed, knowing what he was wanting to talk about. Screw her other friends and her dad for not answering their phones that one night.

"It's just... you haven't been the same since you got back and I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Zane told her.

"I'm fine, Zane." Rikki answered, roughly. "I just made a mistake. I never should have gone out with that guy, he was a dick."

"Well then why did you?" Zane asked.

Rikki looked up and him and then placed her elbows back on her knees. "It doesn't matter, forget about it."

"Rikki, what that guy did to you..." Zane started. She could tell he was getting angry just thinking about it. It was amazing someone like him cared so much for someone like her.

"It's nothing, Zane." Rikki replied. "I told you to drop it."

"You need to talk about it sometime." Zane shrugged.

Rikki scoffed and shook her head. Zane was right, she would need to talk about it but not now. She couldn't do it now. She knew very well why she went out with that guy. What other option did she have?

"I'll see you at the tournament tomorrow." Rikki told him as she stood. As expected, Zane continued to call after her.

"I don't get why you would go out with a guy like him." Zane finally said right before she took off on her bike. "You're not that stupid."

Hurling insults at her always worked like a charm. Zane had to have known that by now. This situation was serious but it still worked. Rikki hopped off her bike and removed her helmet before she turned back to face him.

"Maybe I am that stupid." Rikki replied. "Clearly, I was dumb enough to go out with the guy."

"Why did you?" Zane asked.

"Why did you start dating Sophie?" Rikki asked back.

"What does Sophie have to do with any of this?" Zane asked.

"I..." Rikki started before closing her mouth and crossing her arms. She locked her eyes on the ground beneath her, not dare looking up to him. Finally, it clicked for Zane.

"Rikki-" Zane started as he reached out for her. She still had feelings for him. He'd be lying if he said he didn't still have feelings for her. He spent a lot of his dates with Sophie thinking about how different they would be with Rikki. Not necessarily better, just different. Sophie could go into the ocean, Rikki couldn't. Their juice orders at the cafe were different. Zane had taken Sophie on his bike once and to say it didn't go well would be an understatement. Rikki was a pro in every sense of the word. Sophie was a great girlfriend but if he had to make a choice between Sophie and Rikki, there was really no contest.

Before Zane could continue, his phone started ringing. He pulled it out to see Sophie was calling him. Rikki must have seen it too.

"You better get that." Rikki told him as she jumped back on her bike. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Rikki arrived at the city tournament race about a half hour before it started. She had debated on going or not, last night had been embarrassing. Zane had to have known now she still had feelings for him. She had planned on taking that secret to her grave, unless an opportune time had presented itself. A time where Zane had a girlfriend was not ideal. Sophie was nice, Rikki had thought she was perfect for Zane. Rikki would be nothing more than his friend and motocross trainer.

"Good luck out there." She said once she spotted him in the inspection area.

"How'd you get down here?" Zane asked her.

"With my credentials, they kind of let me go anywhere." Rikki joked.

"Fair enough." Zane responded. "I'm glad you were able to make it."

"I wouldn't miss a chance to witness motocross history." She told him.

"Look, about last night-" Zane started before she cut him off.

"Zane, it's not a big deal." Rikki said.

"It is a big deal." Zane countered.

"Well..." Rikki started. "This isn't the time or place to discuss it."

"I broke up with Sophie last night." Zane told her. Rikki's eyes widened.

"I mean... you don't think I don't think about you all the time?" Zane continued. Fuck it, for someone as secretive as Rikki, she might as well have screamed her love for him from the center of a sold out track last night. The least he could do was be honest with her.

"What?" Rikki asked. He had her attention now.

"It's true." Zane replied. "Sophie's great but... she's not you. I never wanted to break up but you needed to chase your dreams. It's the best day and best six months when you're back in town. Saying goodbye to you hurts and the six months without you are miserable. I couldn't imagine my life without you in it. No one I've ever met has made as big of an impact of my life as you have."

"Funny." Rikki said after a moment. "I could say the same about you. But nothing's changed since last time, I still train in Sydney and-"

"You do realize I graduate school soon, right?" Zane asked her. "We're not fifteen anymore, relying on our parents to take us everywhere. I could move to Sydney if I wanted to. My dad would probably love it actually. He's been talking about a university out there for ages."

Rikki licked her lips and laughed. She looked almost anywhere but him. "That's a big step, you know."

"I know." Zane replied. "I have opportunities here too, I'll stay here if you want me to. We don't have to decide right now either. I'm just asking if you would consider being my girlfriend again. You were the best one I ever had, you know."

Rikki laughed at him again. "You were the best boyfriend I've ever had. Not that you had much competition."

"Fair enough." Zane chuckled. "So what do you say?"

"Only if you win this race." Rikki told him with a cheeky smile. "I don't date losers."

"Well, that makes two of us." Zane said. "All the more motivation."

"Good." Rikki said. "I'll be pulling for you. Now, why don't you go kick some ass, love?"

Zane raised his eyebrows and smiled as she walked away. He found he liked being called 'love' by her. He had to win the race now.

Rikki took the same seats she had since the first city tournament she attended three years ago. Moments later, the racers started taking their places on the starting line. She noticed Zane's orange pads in one of the center most lanes. She cheered when his name was called and watched as he took off. He had developed quite a bit since she first met him. It was funny, people often said she did a lot for female racing across the country but Zane had done a lot for racing in Gold Coast. His fifteen year old self had won this race three years ago and now she was sure that boy wouldn't stand a chance against any of these guys now. He challenged them all, sometimes with a bit of arrogance. He made them better.

She watched as he hit the last turn, fending off the racer that would likely take second place for good. He would make history today and go down as one of the best racers in Gold Coast history. He finally crossed the finish line, solidifying his place in history.

Zane was flocked with everyone from reporters to camera men to fans. Rikki was doing her best to shove her way into the crowd but the stupid reporters had beat her down. How rude, didn't they know she had a tradition to uphold? This could potentially be his last race, she'd hate if they couldn't embrace for the last time. Suddenly, the crowd was shifting backwards and she heard the familiar voice of Henry yelling to give him some room. Once she caught sight of Henry, she was able to see Zane shortly after.

"Let's give them a show, shall we?" Zane asked her before he wrapped his arms around her and finally, finally placed his lips on hers.

Although her eyes were closed, Rikki could tell photographers were flashing pictures of the pair like crazy. The four-time city tournament champion and the two-time national champion a couple? What a match made in motocross heaven.

Chapter Text

Epilogue: Henry's Infamous Track

Although Henry opened his track when he was just a young man, he knew he would be working there for the rest of his life. It wasn't necessarily a career path that allowed for retirement. He simply loved it so much, he didn't mind working. Even now with his wife passed away, his eighties quickly approaching and great-grandchildren making their entrance into the world.

Occasionally racers that came to Henry's track would ask him for stories from his time as a track owner. He had seen many later well known people come through his track. The wealthiest business man in Gold Coast, Harrison Bennett was a regular back in the day. Of course, he didn't ride much, he'd usually hang out with Neil Gilbert and Don Setori as the two men dominated back then. They were the first owners of the champions stalls. Harrison had decided to race the two boys one day and flew off his bike on a turn. The two boys made fun of him but Harrison was helped up by his girlfriend at the time, Lisa Mitchell.

It was a funny cycle Henry observed. Eventually, all three boys stopped coming to this race track, growing up and taking a different path in life as most people did. Henry later learned Neil had married Lisa and all three boys had children around the same time. Only Harrison had a son, Zane, and Henry thought the boy would never stand a chance in motocross. His father was probably too prideful to let his son even try the sport. Henry would still remember the day a dark haired boy who bared a striking resemblance to Harrison moved into one of the champions stalls. He remembered being surprised Harrison had produced such a natural talent.

Zane's reign didn't last forever though. He was pushed out of the stall by the girl who was now the most decorated female motocross racer in Australian history. Rikki had changed the immature boy's life for good. She humbled him, brought him down to earth. She didn't tear him down though. It was a relationship Henry suspected Zane never had but desperately needed. Henry later reckoned it was a relationship she needed too. Both teenagers were broken and born to parents who maybe shouldn't have had kids.

Rikki's picture still hung on the wall. More and more girls had started coming to his race track because Rikki had trained here for so long. The first female city tournament champion came from Henry's track a few years back. The girl said she was inspired by Rikki and had asked Henry if she could meet her idol several times. Henry wished he could help, he hadn't spoken to either Zane nor Rikki in the last several years. He wondered what they were up to, if they were still together.

Rikki had retired from racing not too long ago. Zane had moved with her to Sydney shortly after he won his last city tournament. He had a pro career for a short time, coming close to victory several times over. During the last race Zane had participated in, the announcers had said his girlfriend, Rikki, was in attendance. Henry didn't have personal contact with either Rikki or Zane but he still kept up with their careers until they were no more.

Henry was wiping the counter off that night. A new group of guys had come into the shop to ask the old man for stories earlier in the day. Henry had told them how Rikki beat the invincible Zane for his stall and how the boy had pouted about as he cleaned it out. Henry smiled to himself at the memory of that story. He smiled remembering how his Sandy had been the first one to guess they would be a couple.

Henry heard the bell on the entrance to the shop ring. He cursed himself for not closing it earlier. He had grown into a habit of locking that last since Rikki and Zane had stayed after hours so many times.

"Sorry, we're closed." Henry said.

"I was just going to see if I could take a few laps." The man who entered said as if Henry hadn't said anything.

"Sorry, son." The old man said. "I told you we're closed."

"Really?" The man asked. "Because I remember you letting my wife and I stay after hours plenty of times."

Henry's eyes widened figuring there could only be one person behind him. He turned around and saw Zane Bennett for the first time in years. Zane had to be in his mid to late twenties by now. He had been a scrawny kid but he looked like he had developed a bit of a gym routine over the years. The boy, nay man, stood in front of Henry in a gray t-shirt and blue jeans. Not exactly the riding gear Henry had been used to seeing him in.

"Hi, Henry." Zane said. "Long time, no see."

"Same to you." Henry replied, not even bothering trying to keep his smile off his face. "You've been doing well?"

"Yeah," Zane replied. "Yeah, I'm just in town on... a business trip and thought I'd come check the place out. I would have come earlier in the day but I've been swamped with meetings."

Henry nodded. He continued to take Zane in, as if he was seeing a whole new person. He wouldn't mind staying open for a little while longer. He noticed a silver band around Zane's left ring finger and registered he had mentioned he had a wife when he entered the shop moments ago.

"You got married?" Henry asked.

"Yeah," Zane said, smiling and following the older man's eyes down to his wedding ring. "Yeah, Rikki and I eloped a while ago, actually. We never mentioned it to the press because we didn't want to make a big deal of it. We meant to have a wedding but I don't think that will happen now with... well, I just don't think we want it anymore."

Henry smiled, wondering what Sandy would think about her correct assumption. He was happy two of his racers found everlasting love with each other. It would be another story he could tell kids who came to his shop to ask for stories. He supposed teenage boys probably didn't want to hear many love stories, they probably just wanted stories about bad injuries and what not. Maybe the girls would love it though.

"Well, I have a spare bike out back you can use." Henry told him. "I've just got a few more things to do and then I'll need to close up."

"Great," Zane replied. "I won't be long."

"I've heard that from you before, boy." Henry told him with a smile. Zane laughed back at him before he left the shop.

Henry continued his closing duties. It took a bit longer now than it used to with his old age. He wondered why Zane had come here and wanted to ride a bike around the track. Henry knew the boy had been lying before. He wasn't here on a business trip and he and Rikki weren't going to have a wedding ceremony just because they didn't want to anymore. Zane was going to say something else but had decided to detour and answer in the most appropriate way.

When Henry was done closing, he found Zane staring up at the champions stalls. They were currently housed by Emma Ryan and Zoe Goodman.

"You've got a lot of girls coming to the track now?" Zane asked once Henry had met him outside.

"Yeah, there was a huge surge several years back for whatever reason." Henry said, earning a small chuckle from Zane. "Emma's the most recent city tournament champion. She said she met Rikki here after Rikki's first race in the city tournament. She gave her a hug and everything. I'm sure she'd love to hear from Rikki if it's not too much trouble."

"I'm sure she'd love that." Zane said. "I'll see what I can do."

"Speaking of the champions stalls, I took the liberty of digging these back up." Henry said as he presented Zane with both his and Rikki's old plagues. Zane smiled at them as he took them from the old man.

"Thanks, Henry." Zane said. "This really- really means a lot."

"Not a problem." Henry said. "Now, I know I'm not your wife but do you want to talk about what's really bothering you? What you're really doing out here?"

Zane sighed, looking up from the plagues in his hand. "I was that obvious, huh?"

"I'm afraid so." Henry replied. "Why don't we start with what you're really doing out here?"

Zane sighed again before answering. "I came to get away."

"Away from what?" Henry asked.

"Rikki." Zane replied. Henry raised his eyebrows. Why was Zane trying to get away from his wife? Was he cheating on her? Were they going through rough times? Were they getting divorced? Before Henry could ask anything else, Zane continued.

"And..." he started, moving his hand he held the plagues with in a circular motion. "Our child."

Henry was even more confused but also incredibly excited. Rikki and Zane had a baby, or at the least, were going to have one. It felt like when his own children and grandchildren told him they were expecting.

Zane pulled out his phone and started tapping on the screen before he found what he wanted to show Henry. Henry adjusted his glasses so he was able to see the picture. Rikki looked the same as she always had, the only difference being the bugling belly she sported in the photo. Zane was in the picture with her, a hand placed on her stomach looking as happy as ever.

"She'll be due in a few months." Zane told Henry. "It's a girl, of course."

Henry did the best he could to keep his tears to himself. He was always a blubbering mess when he found out someone he loved would be having a baby. He didn't think that's what Zane needed at the moment.

"Congratulations, son." Henry told Zane as he patted him on the back.

"Thanks." Zane told him. "I guess I didn't really do much, but thanks."

"Why'd you come here?" Henry asked again. He didn't know why Zane would leave his pregnant wife to come out to their old race track.

"Well," Zane started, trying to pick his words correctly. "I don't... I guess I'm just..."

"Scared?" Henry finally put two and two together.

"Terrified." Zane sighed as if he had just let out something he had been holding in for a while. "We had talked about it and we said we would be fine without kids but then Rikki got pregnant and... she's not even born yet b-but we've seen her, felt her, heard her heartbeat. I can't... I love her so much already and I just worry I'm going to screw her up."

Henry remembered feeling the same way when he and Sandy were expecting their first born. Like Zane, Henry didn't exactly have an idol father. He spent all his life trying to become anything his dad wasn't and he naively thought he was doing a good job until he found out he was going to be a father himself.

"How does Rikki feel about becoming a mum?" Henry asked.

"She's scared too." Zane replied. "Which was why I didn't want to talk to her about this. I came into town to help my dad with something and he wasn't much consultation. I thought maybe you'd have some better advice."

"Can I tell you a secret, boy?" Henry asked. Zane nodded his head. "If either of you felt like you were prepared for this, you would be sorely mistaken. No one knows what they're doing, most of parenting is just bullshiting your way through it."

"My dad said he felt prepared when I was born." Zane told him.

"Well, to be frank, your dad isn't exactly father of the year, is he?" Henry asked. Zane scoffed and shook his head. "You will both be great. Just... follow your instincts, help her when she needs help. Sometimes your instincts will be wrong and sometimes you won't be able to be there for her but as long as you try... well that's a hell of a lot more than some parents do."

Zane nodded his head as he took in what Henry was telling him. "I knew this trip would be worth it. Thanks, Henry. For everything."

Zane stuck his hand out for the old man to shake. Henry did so, smiling back at the boy, nay man. Henry remembered the boy that had once caused disruption after disruption at the track. He remembered wishing he would join another track in town, maybe one where you had to buy your way in. Then he remembered the blonde, curly haired girl coming in and changing everything. If someone had gone back in time and told Henry he would be giving parenting advice to the teenager who once knocked over a pail of bottled water to help his friend win a race, Henry would have thought you were joking. Now, as he shook Zane's hand, he found he was incredibly proud of the man that boy had become and the woman who had changed his life.

The heart attack happened a few months later. Henry was recovering well in the hospital but was itching to get back to the track. His youngest daughter, Caroline, was keeping an eye out on him at the hospital and bringing him any work he could do to keep him preoccupied from the regular check ups he received.

"Here's your mail, Dad." Caroline told him one day as she placed a small stack of letters on his hospital tray. Henry began going through the envelopes, tossing aside the junk mail he was sent. He almost threw out a purple envelope until he noticed who it was from. He opened it up with great excitement, having a small idea as to what was inside.

There was a card inside the envelope. He opened the card and felt the pictures fall into his lap. He picked them up, admiring them one by one. The people in them varied but there was a small baby in all of them with a head of curly, brown hair and bright blue eyes. Eyes the same as the girl's mother. Henry picked the card back up and read the inscription.

'Henry, Thanks for everything you've done for us. You always gave us a safe place to go where we could be together and be open with each other. We might not have gotten together if you hadn't let us stay late that one night. You were a surrogate father to the both of us in more ways than one so thank you for always being there. You didn't have to do half the things you did.

We wanted you to meet our daughter, Ember Henrietta Bennett. As you can see she's (thankfully) a spitting image of her mum, apart from her dark hair. She even takes after Rikki with her sassy attitude and never seems to take 'no' for an answer. As for her name, it only felt right to make sure you were apart of our lives forever.

Thank you again. For everything.

Zane, Rikki and Ember Bennett.'

"Dad?" Caroline asked, concern evident in her eyes. Henry could feel tears in his own eyes and figured he'd be concerned too if their roles were reversed. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing, love." Henry replied. "Everything is perfect."

AN: Hi, guys! I hoped you all enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it! As much fun as this was, I think my Rikki/Zane and other H2O story ideas are starting to burn out. I've also gone back into work as opposed to working from home so I don't have as much time to write. I am still trying to finish Little Mermaid (this story has kind of taken me away from that one tbh) and I *might* have one or two more up my sleeve but other than that, I think my writing days are over. Watch me say that and still post new stories like crazy lol. Anyway, if this is close to the end or if this is the only story of mine you read, thank you guys so much for the support! I has really meant a lot. I love Rikki and Zane together and I just wanted to create worlds were they ended up together in the end, regardless of if it was cannon or not and I hope I did them justice.