H2O: A Mermaid Tail

32

    "There's too much rock to cover. We can't find another crystal in all of this, it's useless." Rikki complained from her seat on the sandy ground of the moon pool. Cleo inspected the wall, and I watched Bella fiddle with her necklace.

    I had given Rikki's necklace back to Will as quickly as possible and explained what was going on. He made the brilliant suggestion that we come out and look for more crystals, away from where we could blow out any more electricity.

    "Maybe I should be there. Last time, you only got out of it because you fell over. You might not be so lucky again." He had said, his eyes nervous. He was cute when he worried about me.

    "We won't rely on luck this time. We'll be careful, I promise." I had said, making him smile and pull me into a tight hug. I had hugged him back, and wondered how I got so lucky to have found him.

    "Lethia, you daydreaming again?" Bella asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. I shook my head and looked at the wall.

    "I was just thinking that if we use our powers, we might be able to crack the rock or something. To get a better look."

    "Genius." Cleo said, yanking Rikki up to her feet and pulling her towards us. Cleo arranged us in front of the wall and pointed at it. "Rikki, you heat it up. I'll make a water spike, and Bella, you make it solid."

    "And I'll read minds." I joked.

    "Can't you only do that underwater?" Rikki accused with a laugh.

    "It works better underwater." I explained with a shrug. Rikki nodded and held up her hand, squeezing it into a fist as she heated up a section of rock. Cleo made a water spike and Bella hardened it. Cleo sent it past us into the wall and a chuck of rock cracked off, revealing two small crystals.

    "They're beautiful." I murmured, staring at the perfect Mediterranean blue. Cleo nodded and promptly pulled them out, putting them in her opposite pockets, careful not to let them touch.

    "We need to get the other one back from Will, so we can do some more tests. I want to find out what this all means."

* * *

    "The crystal? Yeah, it's back on my work bench. Come inside, you can grab it." Said Will. The three girls went past him and when I tried, he put an arm across his doorway, stopping me.

    "What, am I not allowed in?" I asked. He shook his head and pulled me over to the side of the dock. The wind tossed my hair around, and he automatically brushed it away from my face. Suddenly shy, he took a step back and shoved his hands in his pockets.

    "I was just wondering— well, I was wondering if I could ask you something."

    "Sure." I answered, and he paused. He opened his mouth to continue but Rikki yelled from inside his house.

    "I can't find the necklace, diver boy!"

    Will rolled his eyes and stepped away, but not before turning to give me an apologetic look.

    "I'll be back in a second." He promised. I scoffed.

    "I'll come with you."

    We went into his home and over to his bench. He held out a hand, pointing.

    "It's right— huh. Oh no." He hurried over to his bench, stumbling slightly over a bag on the ground. He looked at the bag then up at us. "Someone's been in here. The necklace is gone."

    "Is there anything else missing? Who would've just taken a necklace?" Cleo asked.

    "I'll have to go through everything but it looks like everything's still here." Will said, walking around the boathouse and checking over the shelves. Rikki looked down at the ground then back up at us, an angry and knowing look in her eyes. She crossed her arms. Bella looked at her, then down at the ground.

    "I hate to say it..." she said, to which Rikki scoffed.

    "I don't hate to say it. Sophie." Rikki said with a sneer. We looked over at Will, who shook his head in denial.

    "No, she wouldn't." He looked up at us, uncertain. "Would she? She was asking about the necklace earlier."

    "How did she even know about it?" Bella asked, and my mind clicked. I looked at Rikki, and knew without reading her mind that we were having the same thought.

    "Zane." I said. Rikki's face went cold and she walked to the door.

    "I'm going to get it back." She said. Will went towards her, but Bella stopped him. Rikki nodded to Bella.

    "This is something I have to do on my own." Rikki told us. We watched her leave and looked between the group nervously.

    "You don't think Rikki would ever kill someone, do you?" I asked, half-joking. Cleo laughed nervously, and Will sat down on his bed, putting his head in his hands. The two girls went outside, likely whispering about the whole Zane issue. I went over and sat next to Will, my leg against his.

    "It's not your fault. You can't blame yourself for Zane breaking into your own house."

    "I could have keep it hidden away, I could have kept it safer." He argued. I shook my head and patted his knee.

    "He would have gotten what he wanted. He's just that kind of guy."

    "And I'm not?" He asked, looking over at me with guilty blue eyes. "I want to keep you guys safe, and obviously I can't."

    "Stop beating yourself up about it." I ordered. "What I meant is that Zane only cares about himself, that's why he does what he does. You care about other people and that's why we all love you. That's why we trust you with our secret."

    "I found out because I pushed you into the water."

    "And then you made up for it. Zane doesn't fix his mistakes, he covers them up."

    Will nodded, taking in a deep breath. He turned to me and smiled softly.

    "Thank you. Seriously, thank you. You're the best friend I could've ever asked for."

    "Friend?" I asked, amused. His eyes widened and he backtracked quickly.

    "That's how it started! Friend, and then, um, more than a friend. A special friend."

    "I'm your...special friend?" I said slowly, getting a little more unnerved. I had thought maybe he was going to call me his girlfriend. I guess not.

    "That sounds bad too, doesn't it." He said, running his hand through his hair. I bumped his shoulder and stood up, turning to look at him.

    "It's alright, I guess it's true. We are really good friends."

    "Lethia, come on. We're going to help Rikki." Cleo called from the door. I headed over, leaving the awkward conversation behind me.

    "I thought she said she wanted to do it alone?" Bella asked.

    "Deep down, she does want our help. Whether she realizes it or not." Cleo answered. I doubted it a little, but because Cleo had known the fiery blonde first, I followed her out the door, and Will tried to come. I turned and stopped him.

    "Will, I think you being there will make Zane worse. This one has to be a girl thing." I explained apologetically. He nodded and stepped back, watching us go with yet another guilty expression.

    The girls and I hurried over to the cafe. As we walked in, we heard more than the two voices we were expecting. Sophie was also in the back office, her voice high and annoying. Cleo reached into her pockets and pulled out the two crystals. She looked at us, and we nodded in understanding.

    She pressed the crystals together and blacked out the room. The lights shut off, and we watched Rikki come out of the room, necklace in hand.

    "I'll tell you all about it later." She growled. We followed her and dove into the water outside, swimming away from the man who broke her heart and the woman who helped.