Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Eleanor?”

A pause. A sigh. A rolling of eyes. “Yes, Lucille?”

“Gross. Don’t call me that.”

“Then don’t call me Eleanor,” The brunette counters. “What is it?” She sits up on the raft she’s floating on in her pool as Lucy lazily swims around her. 

“I have a very large, extreme problem.” 

Ellie sighs in a way that she doesn’t really mean, smiling slightly. “And what would that be?”

The blonde swims closer and rests her head on the inflated swan. “I’m bored.” 

“What a tragedy, you’re right, that is a very extreme problem. Whatever will we do to remedy that?”

“Let’s go to mako island.” 

Ellie immediately shakes her head. “No. That place is creepy and if we end up getting hurt we might not be able to get back.”

Lucy gives her her best puppy dog eyes and pouts. “Please? We can just hang out on the beach, we don’t have to go into the jungle. We’ll take your dads boat. It’ll only be a couple hours.” 

Ellie hesitates and Lucy can tell she’s weighing the pros and cons of going, but with the way Ellie bites her lip, she knows she’s already won. If they hadn’t been friends for the past ten years, she wouldn’t know her little quirks, but she does and so she does a small victory dive, swimming towards the steps. “Come on!” 

“Lucy, wait, we have to change! We can’t go in just our bathing suits!” 

“Here, my dads boat is the last one,” as they walk towards the deck boat tied to the end of the dock, Ellie looks up at the sky nervously. “Do you think it’s going to rain?” 

Lucy opens her mouth to respond, but she’s interrupted by the sound of a man’s voice. “Well hey girls, what are you doing here?” 

Coming towards them is an older man holding a cooler and a fishing rod, and Ellie immediately smiles. “Oh, hi Mr. Boone,” She nods at the cooler. “Catch anything?”

“Ah, not today. They aren’t biting today for some reason. I was just heading out when I saw you two,” He looks towards her fathers boat. “You taking out The Luna?” 

“Yeah, Els is going to take me on a mini tour around her dad’s favorite dive spots!” Ellie frowns, confused at the lie. “Right, Ellie?” 

The darker haired girl chuckles nervously but quickly nods. “We got bored at home, I’m going to show her that coral he found a few weeks back.” It’s not really a lie, the unusual colored coral her dad had found was on the way to Mako. Just very far from it. Immediately, Ellie realizes what Lucy is doing and though she hates lying, she continues. “I thought it was the best spot since we’ll be alone, can’t get into too much trouble if we stick close by.” 

Mr. Boone makes a hum of approval. “Smart girl. I’ve got to get home to the missus and order us up some pizza,” he chuckles and shakes the cooler in his hand. “I reckon she was getting tired of fish anyway. Have fun you two!” With one last smile he turns away, walking the length of the dock to get back to the beach. 

“Damn, didn’t know you had that in you. That deserved an Emmy.”

Ellie shoots her a glare as she moves to untie The Luna. “Warn me next time you want me to lie, huh?” She tosses the rope down and steps carefully onto the boat, Lucy following quickly after her. 

The blonde sits in the captain seat and has the heart to at least look a little guilty. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I just figured he’d have given us crap about going to Mako.” 

The other girl grabs the keys from their hidden spot under the cockpit seats and shoos Lucy out of the captains seat. “He would have. I think he’s scared of it.” She puts the key in the ignition and the boat roars to life. She takes hold of the helm and easily maneuvers the boat out of the marina. 

Lucy watches the beach as they slowly begin their journey. “I mean, so are you. A bunch of people are.”

Ellie makes a face that Lucy can’t see. “Not like him,” she thinks of him for a moment, and wonders about what stories he’s been keeping all to himself. After a moment she shakes her head and gets back to focusing on driving. “Listen, I want to be back home before the sun sets, okay? I’m experienced, you know that, but I’m not that experienced. Plus I want to finish my essay tonight.” 

“You do understand it’s Saturday right?”

”And you understand that it’s due Tuesday, right?”

The blonde hums in response. She’s about to to look forwards when she sees something. “Hey, check it out, it’s new girl.” 

“What?” Ellie looks in the same direction as Lucy and watches as a brunette girl in a yellow bikini walks towards the water. “Lucy, she’s not new. That’s Amy. Remember? She moved last year but came back a few weeks ago.” 

“Oh right! So, not new. Kinda like a rerun on television. Rerun! I’m gonna call her that. That’s more like it.” She hears Ellie gasp ever so slightly before she bursts into laughter. 

“Lucy! Oh my god, that’s mean! Don’t call her names.” Lucy snickers as her best friend desperately tries to stop laughing. “Also, your comparisons to the most randoms things are getting worse!” 

“Hey! The twins love them!” 

Ellie scoffs. “The twins are ten and worship the ground you walk on as if you’re a goddess.”

Lucy whips her head towards her and makes the most dramatic face she possibly can, adding in a gasp. “Hold on, I’m sorry, are you trying to imply that I’m not a goddess?”

When Ellie turns the boat towards the way to Mako, neither of them notice that Amy dives into the water. 

Nor do they notice that she doesn’t resurface. 

Thirty minutes later, both girls are all smiles as they breathe in the salty air, their hair whipping slightly around them. As they get closer to the island, Ellie begins to slow down. “Right,” she clicks on her phone and reads the time. “It’s 4:30. We need to leave no later than six, okay?”

Lucy gives her a mock salute. “Aye aye, captain.” That earns her a snort and they both giggle lightly. “So-“ 

She’s immediately interrupted by a harsh stopping of the boat, the terrible sound of metal scraping on something, and the feeling of being knocked forwards out of her seat. “Oh my god,” Ellie is at her side in seconds. “Are you okay?” 

She coughs and nods. “Just got the wind knocked out of me.” She takes the hand Ellie puts out to help her up. “What the hell happened? Did you beach us?” 

The brunette moves port side, her eyes searching the water. “No. We’re too far from shore for that. I might have hit a rock.” 

“Um, Els?” 

She doesn’t respond, eyes still searching, panicked. “I might have to go in the water and check.” 

“Ellie.” 

“My parents are going to kill me.” She curses under breath as she slides off her flip flops. 

“Ellie!” 

She whips her head around “what?! I need to focus on get- oh no. Oh please no.” There’s smoke coming from the engine and it suddenly becomes very clear that they’re stuck. Ellie looks towards the island and takes in a shaky breath. “Okay. Okay.” She inhales deeper. “We can’t stay on the boat. We have to swim to Mako. It’s close enough that we’ll make it.” She doesn’t bother taking off her shirt or jeans shorts before dropping herself into the water. “Come on.” 

It takes about seven minutes for them to reach the shore and they both drag themselves out of the water, arms shaking from the effort of the swim and coughing from swallowing some of the water. “I don’t understand. There was nothing. Nothing under the boat. What did I hit? There wasn’t- Lucy?” She pauses when she notices the blonde still wheezing. “Hey, what’s wrong?” She puts her hand on her best friends back and starts to rub it gently. “Is it your asthma?” When the blonde nods, Ellie feels her heart drop. “Tell me you didn’t forget your inhaler.” Lucy looks up at her and as green eyes meet her blue ones, she realizes that Lucy did, in fact, forget it. 

“Okay, it’s okay. It’s going to be fine.” She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a ziplock bag that contains her phone. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Calling my mom.” 

“Aren’t your parents in America? And do you even have any bars? 

“It’s worth a shot.” Concentrating, Ellie holds up her phone. “Come on..please. Oh! Yes!” She let’s out a squeal of triumph and immediately dials her mother. After two rings, she picks up. “Mom! Can you hear me?” There’s a response, but it’s hard to make out. “We’re stuck on mako island and Lucy doesn’t have her inhaler! Can you get the- mom? Mom? No! Dammit!” She turns to look at the taller girl. “Do you think she heard before it lost signal?” 

Lucy stands up shakily, trying to keep her breathing as even as possible. “We need higher ground.” 

Ellie gives her a worried look but nods. “Can you make a hike, do you think?” 

“I think so. I don’t really have a choice.” Ellie reaches out and takes her hand. In response, Lucy squeezes hers. “Let’s go.” 

By the time they reach a high enough point that Ellie thinks she’ll be able to get a signal, it’s midnight, and Lucy’s breathing has become more wheez like. “Sit down, Lu.” She does so, but hearing the nickname that Ellie only uses when she’s scared makes tears fill her eyes. 

Her best friend kneels in front of her and gently brushes her hair back from her face. “You’re going to be fine. We’re going to get home, and you are going to be fine. I am not going to let anything happen to you, alright? Do you understand me? I’m going to get us home. I am not going to let you die on an island.” Her eyes are less watery but the fear is still plain to see. She nods anyway. 

“…Did you just imply you’d let me die somewhere else?

She gives her a tiny grin and shakes her head. “Okay, well, you still being sarcastic is a good sign at least.”

Ellie stands and holds her phone up high in the air. “My mom heard me, I know she did, we just-“ Her voice is replaced by a scream as she disappears from view. 

“Ellie?!” The blonde rushes towards where she had fallen, seeing a hole. “Ellie!” She leans in too far and goes tumbling forward herself. She lands directly next to Ellie who blinks at her in shock. “Are you alright?” 

“Uh, yeah, I think so.” She stands and pulls Lucy up with her. She notices a turning point in the cave and gently leads her towards what could almost be described as a set of stairs. 

“Woah.” They’re stood in front of a blue pool of water at the center of the volcano. Ellie has to blink her eyes when, for a moment, she thinks she sees a flash of gold scales. “That has to be a way out.” 

Although both girls are very unsure, they slowly step into the pool together. They get ready to dive under right as the full moon covers the top of the volcano, and the water starts to bubble and glow. “What the hell?”

And then, something else happens. 

They’re stunned into silence as a shooting star darts across the sky, right in front of the moon. Moments later, the earth around them begins to shake, as if a shockwave had gone out. 

They don’t know it now, but the shaking affects three other girls that are in the vicinity. 

One of them, who believes herself to be the only one of her kind, is swimming home. 

The other two, who also think there are no others, had been enjoying a night swim together. 

All five of them feel what can only be described as something warm, almost hot, enveloping their bodies. 

It stops almost as quickly as it had started. 

Ellie and Lucy stare at each other, having absolutely no idea what to say. The only thing that snaps them out of their stunned trance is the sound of sirens. 

“It’s the water police.”

Ellie takes in a deep breath and dives down, while Lucy inhales as best as she can before following her. 

Once aboard the boat, Lucy is given an inhaler and she can finally breathe properly again. 

Both girls stare at Mako until they get far away enough that it shrinks from their view. 

“Mom, we’re both fine, I promise,” Ellie grabs two plates from the pantry and listens as her mother responds. “You and dad don’t need to come home early, it’s alright,” She lifts a skillet off one of her burners and places scrambled eggs on both plates before using a spatula to get bacon off another, adding that to their plates as well. She puts one of the plates and a glass of orange juice in front of Lucy. 

Lucy mouths ‘thank you’ and Ellie gives her a small smile in return. “Yes, mom. I know. Mhmm. I swear I genuinely don’t know what we hit. The police couldn’t figure it out either. Okay. I promise I’ll check in later. I love you too, bye.” She exhales loudly as she sits across from Lucy, immediately starting to eat. “So, I’m not grounded.” 

Lucy looks at her in shock and almost chokes on the orange juice. “How are you not grounded?! I wouldn’t be seeing daylight for at least a year! I’m lucky I was even allowed to stay here instead of being forced home!”

The brunette laughs and swallows the bite of bacon in her mouth before answering. “Because I didn’t die, I’m assuming.” 

“Oh. Yeah, that’s valid.” They eat in silence for a moment before Lucy speaks again. “What do you think happened last night?” 

By the time Ellie responds, both of their plates and glasses are empty. “I have no idea, maybe an earthquake?” She sets everything in the sink and turns the water on. 

“I don’t buy that. I mean, that pool? And the way that star matched up with it perfectly? And that..that warmth. I’ve never felt anything like that. An earthquake can’t do that, Els.” 

Ellie sighs and leans back, wincing as her back cracks. She wets a sponge and begins cleaning their plates. “Whatever it was, it’s over.” The moment she says that, her body tingles and suddenly she’s landing on the wooden floor. Her eyes grow so wide that Lucy worries they’ll pop out of her head. “What-what..” 

Lucy darts around the kitchen island to where Ellie had landed. The second she does, she stumbles backward. “Holy shit.”

Where Ellie’s legs once were, in their place is now a long, white opal colored tail, and her chest is covered with a scaly top in the same color. “I..I look like..like..”

Lucy kneels next to her, one of her knees landing on some of the water Ellie had spilled when she fell. “A mermaid. You look like a mermaid.” Seconds later, Lucy’s legs are replaced by a tail of her own, and matching chest cover. Though instead of opal, hers is what she’d describe as the color of fire. It’s a light orange color, with red running down the sides and connecting to the orange on the fluke. 

They stare in shock and in silence for at least five minutes before Lucy opens her mouth. “What were you saying about it being over?” She doesn’t argue that she didn’t deserve the wet sponge Ellie throws at her, because she knows she had it coming. Still, rude.

“What are we going to do? We have tails. We’re part fish. What the hell are we supposed to do?” 

It hadn’t taken them long to realize that water was what caused the transformation, and that getting dry was what turned them back to normal. By the time it was dark, they at least knew that part completely.

Lucy sighs from where she’s sitting on Ellie’s bed pulling her hair into a bun, as she peers over at her best friend, who’s near an anxiety attack. “C’mere, fishy.” She pats the space next to her on the bed. The brunette glares slightly but Lucy only laughs. “Okay, I’m sorry. Come up here.” 

She does, sitting down and swinging her legs over the blonde's lap. “We’re fish.”

“Hmm,” Lucy starts to braid Ellie’s hair absentmindedly. “Technically, mermaids.” 

Ellie looks at her, her hair now braided down her back. “Technically, that’s the same thing.”

The other girl flops back onto the bed, closing her eyes. “But mermaids sound cooler.” She can feel the look Ellie gives her, but doesn’t open her eyes to see it. “Sleep. We can figure it all out tomorrow, we’ll have all day. Maybe it’s just temporary. We’ll go down to the beach or something.”

She feels Ellie lay down next to her. “I’m supposed to be the cool and collected one.” 

Lucy chuckles at that. “Yeah, you are. So, sleep. I need you back in shape.”

And, they do. 

Then, five minutes in, a notification from Ellie’s phone goes off. Without even looking at it, the brunette goes rigid and her eyes widen. “Lucy.” 

Lucy, realizing what’s happening, also goes rigid. “Oh, god. Please don’t say it.” 

“We got home past midnight. Tomorrow’s Monday.” 

The only reply Ellie gets is a noise that’s a cross between a groan and a frustrated, almost growl-like sound. 

“My sentiments exactly.”

Chapter Text

Ellie can hear the sound of running footsteps as she knocks on the door and giggles when Daisy and Venus throw it open. “Ellie!” They each grab one of her hands and pull her inside, giving her barely enough time to shut the door behind her. In their excitement, they both talk over each other and she can’t understand what they’re saying, but she smiles and nods anyway. 

“Alright, alright, let’s not break her.” Lucy comes to her rescue and the twins let go of her but they’re still talking a mile a minute. She rolls her eyes but smiles, looking down at them and then moving her eyes up to look at Ellie. “Venus made a very impressive painting, and Daisy is going to participate in a spelling bee because of how well she's doing in that area,” She gives Ellie a bit of an exhausted look. “She’s been doing..a lot of spelling.” 

The brunette smirks at that, considering it karma for dragging her into her lie when they spoke to Mr. Boone. “That’s really awesome guys! Hey, Venus, do you think you can make a painting for me? Maybe draw Caspian! I’ll pay you five dollars for it! And maybe Daisy could write his name on it?!” It’s a tactic to get her and her twin to leave, and while she’s adding a lot of excitement to her voice, it also comes from a real place. She loves Lucys’ sisters, they’re both sweethearts and it gives her a chance to not feel so lonely being an only child. 

Venus gasps at the idea of her very first commission and grabs Daisy’s hand, pulling her twin to their bedroom. Ellie waits for the door to close before looking at Lucy. “You doing okay with the..whole..thing?” 

Lucy walks into the kitchen, Ellie following her close behind. “You mean the mermaid thing?” 

Ellie winces at the word. “Yea, that.” 

The blonde grabs a yogurt from her refrigerator and offers one to her, but she shakes her head. “I’m not staying, I’m going to go see Caspian before school starts,” She grabs her phone to check the time. “School starts at eight so I’ll get about thirty minutes with him by the time I get there. I just wanted to check in.” 

Lucy hops up onto the kitchen counter and nods. “I’ve been fine, honestly. Baths have certainly become interesting. But I’m good. Still in shock, but good.” She gives her best friend a slightly worried look. “Are you okay?” 

She hesitates before nodding. “I’m..fine.” Lucy, clearly not believing her, opens her mouth but she’s cut off. “I really have to go, I’ll see you at school. And remember, no water.” She walks towards the door, opening it, before turning and yelling out. “Bye guys! I’m excited to see the painting!” When she leaves and closes the door, Lucy frowns. 

“Okay. It’s okay. I can do this. How hard can it be to avoid water? Just see Caspian, and go. I’ll be okay.” As if the universe itself has heard her, a jet of water comes at her, and she only just barely avoids it. Her heart rate skyrockets and she has to remember to breathe. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” In that moment, Ellie wants the world to swallow her up. A girl with curly black hair smirks at her. “Did I get you wet?” 

It takes everything Ellie has not to glare at her. “No, Summer, you didn’t.” Not for lack of trying, she thinks to herself. 

Summer hums and turns back to the grey mare she’s washing down. “Starling needed a bath, we’ve been training for hours.” 

At that, Ellie does glare. “You know you shouldn’t do that, you wouldn’t make a person train for hours, you certainly shouldn’t do it to a horse.” She looks at Starling and notices how clearly exhausted she is. “They’re animals, not equipment.” 

Summer rolls her eyes and scoffs. “Just because your horse is lazy, doesn’t mean they all are.” 

Not dignifying that with a response, she walks towards Caspians’ stall. When she sees him, it’s as if everything that’s worrying her disappears. 

“Hey, bud.” He looks excited to see her until she reaches out to rub his nose, his ears immediately pinning flat. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” She unlatches his stall and opens it, but the second she walks towards him, he rears up at her, and the shock of it causes her to stumble backwards and fall, landing on her back. “Caspian! Relax! It’s okay, it’s me!” She hears Summer cackle at her and she pushes herself up. Immediately she closes his stall and latches it again before she begins walking out of the barn. 

She can hear Summer throwing taunts at her but the ringing sound in her ears drowns her out. She wipes frantically at the tears flowing down her cheeks, thankful that Summer can’t see her and begins to run when she gets far enough away. 

When she gets to school, she starts speed walking to her locker. Other students are talking to their friends and she mostly ignores them all, catching a few snippets of different conversations. One stands out, simply because of the American accent that one of them has, “…completely changed colors! What the hell hap..” that’s all she hears as she walks by them, but she’s not a nosy person so she’s not paying attention. 

Lucy is leaning against her locker, doing something on her phone. When she sees Ellie, she puts it away and gives her a worried look. “Hey, are you okay? You were almost late. Wait, have you been crying?” Ellie takes in a breath and quickly grabs everything she needs from her locker. “Els, talk to me.” 

“I’m fine. I just had a bad moment with Caspian.” She slams her locker and starts walking to homeroom, Lucy following after her. “And of course Summer was as bitchy as ever.” 

“God, never in my life have I wanted someone to get kidnapped as much as I do her,” She links arms with Ellie which gets a small smile from the brunette. “Of course, they’d bring her back immediately. No one can be in her presence without getting a migraine. Is Caspian okay?” 

Ellie shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s sick. Or it’s just a bad day.” She doesn’t say what she really thinks. The idea hurts too much. But she knows it wasn’t sickness. It was fear. “I can’t think about it right now, let’s just go to class.” 

“Ellie, look. Isn’t that Amy?” 

They’re at lunch, the only two at the five person table. Ellie looks up from her salad that she’d been picking at to see Amy sitting alone at a table. “Yeah. Should we- oh shit.” Summer is walking towards her table, her clique behind her. 

“Hey, Amy, right? I’m Summer.” She leans down to look her in the eyes. “You’re at our table.” 

Amy plays with her long brown hair nervously. “I’m sorry. I-the other tables-“ 

“Do I look like I care about what you have to say? Move. Go sit by the garbage or something.” 

“Oh, hell no.” Lucy stands up, as does Ellie, who’s just as angry. “Hey Summer!” 

The girl rolls her eyes. “Oh look, more trash.” She turns her eyes to Ellie and grins. “How’s your back? Funny how you lecture me about Starling when your horse clearly can’t stand you.” 

Subconsciously, Lucy begins to curl one of her hands into a fist. “Are you serious? How pathetic do you have to be to pick on someone who has literally done nothing to you ever. Back off.” The water bottle that one of Summers’s friends is holding slowly starts to heat up. 

Amy looks almost surprised that someone is standing up for. “It’s alright, really-“ 

Ellie interrupts her. “No. It’s not. Summer, you spend your time doing nothing but being awful to people and abusing your horse. Maybe that’s why you failed sophomore year and are still here while all your so-called friends are juniors. You’re seventeen, grow the hell up.” 

Lucy let’s out a loud laugh and Summers’ face turns red. “If I’m the awful one, why do your parents leave you at any chance they get? Not only does your horse hate you..but it seems your parents do too.” 

The blondes hand immediately turns into a complete fist at that, and the water bottle explodes, wetting everyone but Lucy, Ellie, and Amy. “Ow!” One of her friends cries out, as do the others. “It’s boiling!” Summer gasps as some of the water lands on her arm, burning her slightly. 

Ellie looks shocked, as do Lucy and Amy. Lucy and Ellie connect eyes, almost as if they can read each other’s minds. It’s an unspoken question. Did you do that? 

They don’t notice the rage on Summers' face while they look at each other. 

Lucy realizes what Summer is about to do a second before she does it, but it’s too late. Grabbing a can of soda from one of her other friends, she opens it. She could have dumped it on Lucy. Or Ellie. But she sets her sights on someone she considers the weaker link. Amy. 

She gasps as the entirety of the can is dumped on her head, soaking her. She looks panicked for a split second, and then she stands up and runs out of the cafeteria, Summer and her friends laughing as she does. 

Ellie grabs Amy’s books and backup and starts running after her. Lucy moves to follow her but she hesitates and turns to Summer. “You know, most people who treat others like dirt, often come from dirt. Think on that.” And then she runs after Ellie. 

They see Amy run inside the girls bathroom and quickly follow her inside. 

She looks at them, terrified. “No! No, please leave, you have to leave!” But it’s too late. She falls on the tile floor, a blue tail replacing her legs and a perfect matching scaly top replaces her shirt. They gape at her and she looks like she’s going to cry. “Please, please don’t tell anyone! Oh my god, please!” 

Ellie and Lucy look at each other, and nod once. Immediately, Ellie begins checking the bathroom stalls to make sure they’re completely alone, while Lucy runs over and locks the bathroom door. Once they’re done, they sit down next to her. “Amy, it’s okay. We’re not going to tell anyone.” Ellie goes to touch her arm in a reassuring manner, but pulls her hand back when she notices the water on her arm. 

Amy looks like she doesn’t believe them. “Why wouldn’t you?” 

Lucy gives her a small smile. “Well, because one, we’re not shitty people. And two, because you are not the only mermaid in the room.” 

She looks shocked and stares at them. “You two are mermaids?” 

Lucy doesn’t miss the way Ellie frowns at that word, but she decides not to say anything right now, focusing on the situation at hand. “Yup. Just like you. Well, I mean, Ellie’s tail is a sort of..colorful opal and mine is red and orange, but other than that, yeah.” 

Amy immediately looks relieved. “When did you transform?”

“Sunday. So..yesterday. At Mako. You?” 

“A year ago, at Mako.” 

“A year?! Seriously? Wait, is..that why you moved away?” 

Lucy and Ellie get into more comfortable positions next to her. Amy shakes her head. “No, but I transformed pretty soon before we moved.” 

Ellie nods and moves closer to her. “Can I ask why you moved then?” 

“Sure,” She looks sad for a moment before snapping out of it. “My aunt got really sick. Cancer. They gave her a six month prognosis so my dad moved us all to America so we could be with her and take care of her. She got an extra six months, so we had a year with her. But she passed away last month. I really miss her. I got my love of art from her.” 

They both look at her sympathetically. “We’re sorry for your loss.” 

She gives them a small smile. “Thank you. And..thank you for sticking up for me, no one has ever really done that before. I don’t..really have friends.” 

Lucy grins at her. “Summer is the literal worst. I’ll take any opportunity to knock her down a peg,” She looks at Ellie, and asks her a silent question to which Ellie smiles and nods. “And by the way, you have friends now. Me and Els.” 

“Oh, no, you don’t have to do that. You don’t have to let me into your group just because we’re all mermaids.” She looks embarrassed at the pity she’s imagining they’re giving to her. 

“Hey, no.” Ellie makes eye contact with her. “That’s not why. Sure, it’s a part of it, but not the only reason. I remember how nice you were to me last year in art class when I was a disaster. You seem like someone I’d really like to get to know.” 

Lucy nods in agreement. “Plus, those clothes you wear are sick, it’s really cool how you add your art to your outfits. It’s been just me and Ellie for so long, it’ll be really nice to have somebody new around. Make our duo a trio.” Ellie chuckles slightly at that. 

Amy beams at both of them. “Well..if you’re sure.” 

They answer in unison. “Absolutely.” 

Amy giggles. “Okay, I’d love to hang out with you guys. Oh! And the thing you did with that water bottle was really impressive, Lucy, is that one of your powers?” 

They blink at her in confusion. “One of my…powers?” 

“Yea! When I transformed I got- oh I’m so dumb!” She moves her hand above her tail and puts it in a claw like motion. The water rises from her body and the droplets form a small ball of water, which she moves into the sink and lets it go down the drain. Her legs immediately reappear and she stands up. “I could’ve done that the second I fell, but you know, clearly I was distracted.” 

Lucy looks incredibly impressed while Ellie looks nervous. “Hold on. You’re telling me we have powers? You can control water?” 

“Any liquid, actually! Oh, and I can control and make air! Here,” She turns on the sink and lets it fill up. “Give it a go.” 

Ellie takes a step back while Lucy puts her hand over the water. Slowly, she clenches her hand into a fist and the water begins to boil, before evaporating completely. “This is awesome! Do I have other powers? You’ve got two, right?” 

Amy nods and smiles. “You’ve probably got more than one, I’m sure you’ll figure them all out eventually. Why don’t you try, Ellie?” 

“Um,” She glances at them nervously. “I’m not-“ A bell ringing interrupts her and she sighs in relief. “That’s the end of lunch, we’ve gotta go.” She unlocks the door and walks out, Amy and Lucy following her. 

None of them notice the two girls that stare at them while they walk towards the science lab. 

Chapter Text

“Hey, uh, are you like, okay?” 

Ellie jumps at the unfamiliar voice and turns to see two teenage boys, both holding surfboards. “What?” 

The one with curly blonde hair glances at the one with slightly long black hair and it makes her feel almost self conscious. “I was just asking if you’re okay. You’re sort of just sitting here by yourself.” 

He’s not wrong, really. Amy and Lucy had decided to take a quick swim to Mako before heading to Amy’s house to work on homework. She hadn’t wanted to go, and while Amy tried to persuade her, Lucy knows how stubborn she can be so she had been able to convince her to drop it. 

Now, she was sitting alone on the beach, knees to her chest, staring at the water while she waited for her friends. “I’m fine. Just waiting for my friends.” 

The blonde gives her a pitying look, clearly not believing her but they both shrug and run off in the direction that they were heading. 

She goes back to staring at the water but her phone ringing breaks her trance. Checking the caller ID she sees it’s her mom and for a moment she feels better. She presses accept and puts it up to her ear. “Hi, mom! I didn’t think you’d be calling from the airport, how’s dad? Did he take his pills? I know how anxious he can get about flying.” 

There’s silence for a moment, and then “El Bel.”

Oh. 

That nickname. That tone. “..You aren’t at the airport are you?” 

Her mother sighs and Ellie partially zones out. “We have to stay for at least one more week. I’m sorry, love. We both are. But we know you’ll be fine, you’ll take great care of everything. You’re so mature for your age, it’s why we’re not worried. We know we can rely on you, right?” 

She wants so, so badly to yell that she has no other choice. That of course she’s mature for her age, she’s never had the option to be anything else. But more than that, she wants to be a good daughter. So instead, she simply says “Of course, mom. I love-“ 

The call ends and she hopes it’s because her mom lost cell service. 

She knows it’s not. 

She wants to cry, but she doesn’t. 

She’s gotten very, very good at holding things in. 

“Amy that was incredible!” Lucy laughs as they both surface in the moon pool. “It was so beautiful. And I can’t believe we can hold our breath for that long.” She rests her arms on the edge of the rock and tries to calm her heartbeat and breathe steadily. “It’s not fair I’ve still got to worry about my asthma.” 

The other girl frowns at her. “It’s gotten better though, hasn’t it?” 

She shrugs. “Yes and no? It’s like..when I’m a mermaid, it’s not bad. I still have to be careful, but I can go without my inhaler. When I’m not..it’s the same as it’s always been. Awful and I need my inhaler.” 

Amy thinks for a moment before answering. “I’m glad you get some relief from it at least. I used to think that the transformation would almost cure things, but I got it mixed up.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Okay, so, a few days after I turned I got this awful cut on my hand because I wasn’t paying attention while I was cutting up some water colors. When I took a bath later that day, the cut went away. I assumed that being a mermaid caused it to heal, but when I turned back it was still there. So the theory I’ve got is basically that anything that happens when we’re humans, doesn’t transfer over to our mermaid forms.” She glances at Lucy. “But I guess that when something is..a part of you, like something you’re born with, it sticks around, only not as bad.” 

“Jesus, Ellie is supposed to be the smart one.” Lucy snorts when Amy uses her powers to throw water at her. “Hey! I’m serious, that’s a really smart theory Amy.” 

The other girls blushes. “I don’t know, I guess. I’m sure Ellie would’ve figured it out sooner than I did.” 

The blonde gives her a sad smile. “Well, she does have a genius level IQ. But it’s hard to come up with any theories when you don’t even talk about the thing you’re theorizing about.” 

“Is she okay? I know I don’t know neither of you like you two know each other but I remember her being more..outspoken and willing to do basically anything at least once.” 

Lucy runs her hand through the water. “If you ask her, she’ll say yes. But I know she’s not. I’ve honestly never seen her this..” 

“Scared?” Amy offers up the word but Lucy shakes her head. 

“No, not scared. It’s..more than that. Lately I’ve been nervous that she might..kind of hate herself in a way. I know she hates that she’s a mermaid now. She can’t even stand to hear the word. She’s always had this obsession with being perfect.”

A sad silence passes over them before Lucy takes in a deep breath. “Right, okay, no more! I want to practice my powers, you promised to show me!” 

Amy grins at her and the sadness, for now, is put on the back burner. “I did. But not here, let’s go to the shore so we’re not dragging ourselves out of here with the rocks around us.” 

They both dive under and speed swim to the shore of Mako, pulling themselves out of the water and onto the sand. “First things first, you got pretty lucky, your powers will definitely help with getting your legs back faster.” Like the day they first met her, Amy puts her hand over her tail and manipulates the water off of her, tossing into the sea. When her legs reappear she stands up. “It took me a while to realize that I could do that, I used to rely on towels and hair dryers.” Lucy looks at her almost expectantly. “You can dry yourself off, that’s part one of our practice.” 

Lucy looks nervous but she moves her hand above her tail and slowly puts it into a fist. Steam begins to surround her, and when it clears her legs are back and she gives a small shout. “I did it!” 

Amy smiles at her, almost proud. “I wonder what else you can do. Try seeing if you can heat something up without liquid.” 

The blonde looks around before spotting a small bush, and she reaches her hand out. Concentrating, she puts her hand into a fist, but in her excitement, she does it much more quickly, and a bolt of lightning strikes the bush, causing it to set on fire. 

They both gasp and step several feet backwards. Amy quickly uses her powers and puts the fire out with water, and then uses her air ability to clear the smoke. “Woah.” 

“Are you okay?! That was..insane. I didn’t mean to.” 

Amy takes in a shaky breath, a bit startled. “I’m alright. I felt the heat, as I’m sure you did, but I’m not burned or anything. I think it’s because you did it faster than usual.” 

“So, slowly means heating, faster means fire and lightning.” 

“I’m assuming so. I wonder what Ellie- Oh my god, Ellie!” 

“Shit, we’ve been here so much longer than we should have been. Let’s go.” They both run towards the waves and dive under. 

Ellie paces back and forth, worry twisting in her gut. Her friends had been gone too long. Could they be hurt? Caught? She moves towards the water but stops just before reaching it. She wants to go and look, but she can’t find it in herself to face her fears. 

Her phone rings, and she answers it immediately not checking the ID, thinking it’s Lucy or Amy. “Hello?”

“Hi Ellie dear!” Her heart drops at the sound of the barn owner where Caspian is boarded. She doesn’t usually make personal calls. Is he sick? Hurt? “I’ve noticed that you haven’t been here in a few days, is everything alright?” 

“Oh!” She sighs in relief. “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Chatta, I’ve been..ill.” She feels guilty immediately about the lie, and also nervous. Ellie never, ever misses a chance to see Caspian. She rode in a competition when she had bronchitis, for gods sake. Came in first, too. “Is he okay?” 

“He’s completely fine, if not a bit lonely. The farrier came today to check everything and he needed a new shoe. He was a little anxious as always but Quentin was able to calm him long enough.” 

“Sorry, who?” 

“He’s a new stable hand I’ve hired. That’s partially why I’m calling, actually. Caspian seems restless and like I said, a tad lonely. I know you don’t want him being used in lessons, so I’m calling to ask if perhaps you’d be alright with Quentin exercising him until you’re better.” 

She immediately bristles at the idea of somebody else riding her horse. She opens her mouth to say no, absolutely not, Caspian is her partner and he’ll be fine. 

And then she hates herself for that selfish thought. Lonely. Restless. Anxious. “..Sure, that’d be fine. Just please make sure he sticks to the usual routines, and inform him about his fear of the sheep next door. He’ll be knocked off if he isn’t careful.” 

“Of course. I hope to see you back here soon.” 

The call ends and Ellie realizes she’s crying. She quickly wipes her eyes and shakes her head. “Snap out of it. You’re fine.” She gets a text notification and reads it through slightly blurry eyes. It’s from the man who usually cleans their pool, and he texts her that he’s canceled the appointment due to no one being home. 

“We know we can rely on you, right?” 

Her chest tightens. 

“He’s fine, if not a bit lonely. Restless.”

She’s dizzy. 

If anything will help her feel better, it’ll be seeing her grade on the essay from Tuesday. The grades should have come out now. 

She notices two lines in the water, both swimming quickly to the beach and she smiles knowing it’s Lucy and Amy. She logs in to the school website, not noticing her shaking hands. Her grade is in and she’s almost excited for the feedback that their teacher will give her. 

Wait. 

No. 

That’s not right. It can’t be right. 

She stares down at the F and it stares back, almost mockingly. 

“Ellie!” She can’t hear either of her friends' voices over her heartbeat. “We’re so so sorry, we got caught up, but you’ll never believe- Ellie?” 

She vaguely feels Amy reach out and touch her arm. “Are you okay?” Her voice sounds far away. She drops her phone onto the sand and Lucy picks it up for her. 

She takes a step back from them. “I-“ 

“We know we can rely on you, right?” 

“Lonely. Restless. Anxious.” 

“Not only does your horse hate you..it seems your parents do too.” 

“F is for failure.” 

“Appointment canceled.” 

“Mermaid.”

She feels hot. Her clothes are too tight. Her chest tightens more. “Stop. Please stop.” 

“What?” Lucy takes a step forward. “Els. Hey, are you okay?” 

“I said stop!” She puts a hand out, in a stop motion, and multiple tide pools around them ice over. One explodes. Her legs turn to jelly and she falls onto her knees. She’s breathing rapidly and she feels sick. Amy is by her side instantly. Lucy runs to her bag she had left by the rocks when she and Amy went swimming and grabs her inhaler. 

“No, Lucy.” Amy gently pushes her hand away when she brings it to Ellie’s mouth. “She’s having a panic attack.” She reaches out and gently takes Ellie’s hands in hers. “It’s okay. You’re alright. I know it doesn’t feel like it, but it’s going to pass. Squeeze my hands as tight as you need. We’re right here.” Ellie does so and Amy doesn’t even wince. “Try to slow your breathing. In and out. In through your nose, out through your mouth.” 

“I-I can’t.” 

Lucy feels helpless and tears fill her eyes seeing her best friend in this state. 

“Yes you can. You can, Ellie. Copy me.” Amy breathes in deeply and Ellie begins to copy her after a few moments. “Good. You’re doing so good. Keep squeezing, ground yourself.” When Ellie’s breathing slows, and she stops squeezing Amy’s hands, she gently lets go of her. “You’re through the worst of it. It’s okay.” 

Lucy reaches out and puts a hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?” 

“Ye-“ 

No. No more. 

She shakes her head. “No. I’m not okay. I’m really, really not okay.” When she says it, it’s like her entire body has finally been given permission, and the floodgates open. She begins to sob and Amy and Lucy immediately hug her and for the first time in a while, she feels safe. 

Chapter Text

When Ellie and Lucy reach the lunch table, it’s immediately apparent that Amy is nervous. She’s fidgeting with her hands and won’t really make eye contact with either of them. 

They sit down across from her and both give worried frowns. “Are you okay? Did Summer do something to you again?” 

At Lucy’s question, Amy jump’s slightly and shakes her head. “No, she’s been staying away from me thanks to you two.” 

It’s clear that two girls don’t believe her. “Then why do you seem so nervous?” 

Blushing slightly, Amy reaches into her backpack and pulls out two small boxes. They’re nothing fancy, just two brown boxes in the shape of a circle. “Um,” She looks a little uncertain and Lucy grins. 

“Hey now! No proposals, buy a girl a drink first!” 

Ellie jabs her elbow into her ribs for that, but her joke works and Amy relaxes. “I know we’ve only known each for a little while, but you’re quickly becoming my best friends and I just..well..here just open them.” 

They do, and Amy begins to pick at the skin around her fingernails. “If you hate them I’ll understand.” 

When they each open their respective packages, they go silent for a moment. 

“Amy..” Lucy pulls out a golden chain bracelet that has royal blue thread woven throughout it. There’s three charms on it. One is a small sneaker, one is in the shape of a flame, and in the middle is a moon charm. “This is so, so cool.” 

Ellie’s is extremely similar, but still different. Hers is a silver chain bracelet instead of gold, and the thread woven through it is lavender. Hers only contains a single charm, a horse. “It’s beautiful.” 

Amy beams at them but she’s still blushing. “There’s two more charms in your box, Els, I didn’t add them because..y’know, but if you’re ever ready they’re there.” Ellie takes another look in the package and sure enough there are two other charms. One is the same moon charm on Lucy’s, and the other is in the shape of a snowflake. She smiles softly, but does not connect the charms. “Lucy, the sneaker is because you love track, the flame is for your powers, and the moons we each have I think is obvious.” 

The brunette lifts her arm onto the table to show she has a bracelet of her own. Like Ellie, hers is silver, but the thread in hers is pink. She has three charms as well. A paintbrush, a raindrop, and of course the same matching moon. 

They both put their own bracelets on, and Ellie tucks the other two charms into her pocket. “How did you know our favorite colors?” 

Amy brushes a hair behind her ear and shrugs. “When people ignore you, and treat you like you’re invisible, it’s easy to notice things about other people. Like how Ellie always tends to use things that are lavender, and Lucy, I’ve seen you switch out your white shoelaces for royal blue ones at every track meet.” 

Ellie traces her hand over the horse charm, which makes her think of Caspian. “Where did you get them?” 

“Oh, I made them.” 

They both gawk at her. “What? Amy that’s incredible! How do you even-they look store bought!” 

She’s about to reply to Lucy’s compliment when the sound of someone clearing their throat startles all three of them. They look up from the table to see two girls staring at them. One of them, the redhead, looks angry. The girl behind her with her dirty blonde hair tied up into a high ponytail smiles at them slightly, but it comes out looking like a wince. 

Ellie, always the leader, speaks first. “Hi? Can we help you?” 

The dirty blonde whispers to the other girl, but they can all hear her. “Jay, I really don’t think-“ 

The redhead, Jay as she’s apparently called, doesn’t let her finish. “You can help us, actually. I want to know what the hell the three of you have done.” 

Lucy glares at her. “What are you talking about?” 

“The moon pool. What the hell did you do to the moon pool?” 

Lucy shuts and locks the door to the currently unoccupied science classroom, leaning against it as well to keep watch. “Do you want to explain exactly why you think we’ve done something wrong?” 

Jay rolls her eyes from where she’s sitting cross legged on a desk. “You two,” She gestures to Ellie and Lucy “Were picked up by the water police on mako island last full moon. Everyone knows. Nobody cares because they don’t know the full story-“ 

“And you do?” Ellie is leaning backwards on a desk, and she sends Jay a small glare. 

“Yes, I do. We do.” She looks over at Callie who still looks sheepish. “That night was meant to be just another full moon, but things changed, our tails changed, that weird star thing, and considering you three were out there, it’s pretty obvious it’s your fault.” 

“I wasn’t there, actually.” Amy speaks up but looks nervous about doing so. “I was swimming home.” 

“Okay, whatever. Either way, when you two transformed, something obviously broke.” 

“What do you mean your tails changed color?” 

Finally, Callie is the one to say something instead of her friend. “Our tails used to be this gold copper color. Now mine is green and Jays is purple.” 

Ellie furrows her eyebrows, remembering the flash of gold she saw in the moon pool that night. “I saw one of you leaving the moon pool. You were there, so why assume it was us?” 

Amy clears her throat. “Um, that was me, I think. My tail used to be gold, too. It’s blue now.” She gives Ellie and Lucy an apologetic smile. “I think when you guys fell down the top entrance I had just decided to go home. You probably saw me leaving.” 

“What if you had been wrong?” All eyes turn to Lucy who has her arms crossed now. “About us, I mean. Yeah, the three of us are mermaids, but what if you had been wrong, and randomly told three strangers about the moon pool?” 

At that, Jay scoffs. “There was no possible way I could’ve been wrong.” 

Callie gives a soft giggle and nods. “No offense, but the three of you are really obvious when you know what to look for. And we’ve been doing this for ages, so we know the signs.” 

“The three of you scream newbie’s.” 

Amy immediately looks embarrassed. “I’ve been a mermaid for a year.” 

Jay frowns at her. “And you’re still acting dumb? When Ellie pointed out she saw you that night I knew it meant you’d been a mermaid longer but I would have guessed two months at most.”

“Woah, woah, hey! You can’t talk to her like that!”

“I absolutely can! She’s been a mermaid for a year and she’s still-“

“Can we please just stop?” Callie sighs and picks at her fingernails. “Lunch is almost over and the bell is going to ring and this classroom is going to fill up with people. I’m sure our teacher is going to be very curious about why we’re here.” Her eyes move around to look at each girl. “Jay, I told you this was a bad way to go about this. Can we make an agreement to meet at mako later tonight and have a conversation?” 

Lucy, still frowning, nods her head. As does Amy. 

They both glance at Ellie who looks nervous and Amy gives her an encouraging smile. “I..alright. Tonight then.” 

Callie gives them all a genuine smile and claps her hands once. “Great! We’ll see you later.” She and Jay exit the classroom and Ellie sighs. 

“Something tells me this is a bad idea.” 

Chapter Text

The smell of cinnamon is both sad and comforting. Comforting because it means pancakes, mom’s recipe. Sad because mom is not here, because she walked out on them. Sad because pancakes mean something is wrong. With dad, most likely. It’s a sign that her brother is going to try to comfort her about it. Slowly, she pulls herself out of bed and walks into their kitchen. 

“Morning, Mine!” Her brother turns to her and gives her a smile that isn’t quite right. Tiredness is evident in his eyes, but he’s still trying. “I put your meds on the table so please take those, okay?” 

She makes a face, scrunching up her nose and that earns her a chuckle. “I know, I know,” He turns back to the stove to flip a pancake before continuing. “You need them, though, they’ve been helping, right?” 

They have been. That doesn’t mean she hates them any less. It’s not really the pills themselves, it’s what they mean. That her brain is broken, that there’s something genetically wrong with her. Reaching out, she uncaps the bottle and puts one of them in her mouth, taking a sip of the orange juice that’s been put in front of her when it gets stuck in her throat. “Is dad okay?”

His shoulder immediately tense and he lets out a soft sigh. “He’s not doing great today, Mine. You know how it is, there’s good days and bad days.” He grabs a plate from the cupboard and slides three pancakes onto it. He can’t help the genuine laugh that comes out of him when she raises her eyebrows as if she’s saying ‘Seriously?’ and adds a fourth one to the stack. 

She hums in approval and he sits across from her after making his own plate. “How bad is it today? Like, on the scale?” 

He stares down at the plate, as if he doesn’t want to answer. Jay knows that he’s contemplating lying to her, because he’s done it before. By now though, there’s really no point in protecting her from it. “I..I’d say an eight.” 

And oh, how she hates the days when it’s anything above a five. Not that five is good, but on the days where it's higher than that, it hurts even more. On days like this, she can hear him vomiting and wheezing when he can hardly catch his breath. The two of them are silent for a bit, and Jay can’t stand it. 

She loathes the quiet. Silence allows the thoughts in and it overwhelms her. Her mind already goes a mile a minute, so she always breaks the silence. “..Wes?” 

He swallows before answering. “Yea?”

“What do lawyers wear to court?” 

He grins at her and meets her gaze. “I have absolutely no idea.” 

She grins back. “Lawsuits.” 

It takes him a second to get it, but when he does he snorts a laugh and while he still looks exhausted, she got him to laugh, and she counts that as a win. 

Before leaving to walk to school, she goes to say bye to their dad, but he’s sleeping and she doesn’t want to wake him. She kisses his forehead instead, “I’ll see you later, daddy. Feel better.” 

Her teachers hate her. Okay, maybe hate isn’t the right word, but it’s close. Even after her ADHD diagnosis, they still act like she does the things she does on purpose, when often she can’t control it, and it’s often subconsciously. 

Like now, for example. “Jasmine!” She jumps slightly and looks at her math teacher who’s clearly losing patience. “This is the third time I’m asking you, stop fidgeting with your pen, you’re distracting your classmates. Put it away, you don’t need it right now.” Said classmates are now staring at her and she immediately feels ashamed. 

She moves her head down and stares at the floor. She forces herself to put her pen down on her desk and instead begins to fiddle with the sleeves of her sweater, pulling at the fabric. She doesn’t do it on purpose. She really, truly doesn’t. If her hands aren’t busy, then her mind is. Something about her is always busy. Her mind, her body, everything. 

She forgets her homework more often than not. Not because she doesn’t do it. She does it. But she forgets to bring it with her. Math is her worst subject, concentrating on tasks sometimes feels impossible, and she hates it. 

Not just that. She hates everything about her ADHD. The talking, the interrupting, the hyperness, the fidgeting, the inability to focus, the inability to stay still, to concentrate. 

Jay understands that she can be a lot. That she can be frustrating. That she can be too much. 

And she hates herself for it. 

When her brother picks her up from school, he looks even more exhausted than he had this morning. She loves Wes, wants to make him feel better, and so she makes jokes. One after another. 

“Mine, can we maybe just listen to the radio for a bit? I love your jokes, you know I do, but I’ve got a migraine and I’m tired. How about you tell me them at dinner, huh?” 

But she keeps going. She wants him to smile. She wants it so desperately. 

“Jasmine.”

Please, she thinks, just one smile. If she can’t make him smile, what good is she? 

“Jasmine, enough!” He grips the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turn white. “Please, for once, just stop! I’ve been with dad all day, I’m exhausted, and you’re being too much!” 

He was the only person who had never said that to her. Too much. 

When he realizes what he’s said, he’s immediately horrified. “Oh my god. I didn’t-Jasm..Mine, I didn’t mean it, I’m so sorry.” But the damage is done, and she bolts from the car as soon as he parks in the driveway. “Mine, please!” 

She doesn’t listen, she just runs. She runs until her lungs feel like they’re going to burst. When she stops, she realizes that she’s stumbled upon a hiking trail. It’s completely void of any other people, and she decides to follow it. 

After about twenty minutes of walking, she hears the sound of running water and, curiosity getting the better of her, she leaves the path and walks towards it. 

The source of the running water is a small waterfall, and if the overgrown grass and just general lack of any recent human presence is anything to go by, nobody has been here in a very long time, maybe not ever. 

Walking past the waterfall, she carefully climbs the small cliff, wanting to get a better view. It’s night now, and she knows her brother must be worried. Normally she’d feel awful, but not tonight. When she gets to the top, she almost gasps. There’s a small circular pool and she’s quick to notice that it’s connected to the waterfall, that it’s causing it. It shouldn’t be possible, there’s no extra source of water. It’s simply the pool. She has no idea where the water is coming from, but she finds that she doesn’t really care. 

Something, she doesn’t know what, draws her closer. It’s as if the water is calling her. And without hesitation, she steps into the pool. It goes just a bit past her shoulders and everything inside of her feels calm. 

Until it doesn’t. Her eyes that she didn’t even notice had drifted shut, open rapidly when the pool begins to bubble around her. The moon is perfectly overhead and she’s too stunned to do anything but stand there until the bubbling stops. She rushes to get out, although she also wants to stay. But it’s dark and she’s cold. So she doesn’t. 

When she gets home, Wes tries to talk to her, but she doesn’t let him. The pain from his words are still too raw, and he gives her her space. 

The next morning, she panics slightly when she sees that the clock on her nightstand is showing that it's almost one in the afternoon. When she remembers it’s Saturday, she sighs in relief and goes to the bathroom to brush her teeth and shower. 

She tests the temperature of it and hums in approval. Just as she’s about to get it in, the tingling feeling that spreads through her body stops her, and the next thing she knows, she’s on her back, half in the tub, half out. 

And she has a tail. It’s copper, almost golden and she wonders if she’s dreaming. 

There’s a knock on the door. “Mine, are you okay? I heard a thud,” When he doesn’t get a response, Wes sighs. “Listen, Mine, I..I’m so damn sorry. I didn’t mean it. Not a single word. I’m your big brother and I love you. I love your jokes. I am so, so incredibly sorry. I was exhausted from taking care of..no, that’s not an excuse. You aren’t too much, Jasmine. If you want to talk about it, I’m right here.” Still no response. “Mine?”

A small part of her decides to be courageous. He's her brother. She needs help. After a few minutes, the tail disappears and she stands up. 

By the time she opens the door, he’s no longer on the other side of it. Her courage melts away almost as soon as it came. She could go after him, should go after him. Walk to his room and tell him what’s happening. 

But Jay is thirteen years old. 

Thirteen year olds can be stubborn and stupid. 

So she doesn’t say a word about it. 

And that courage never came back. 

Not even when she turns fourteen. Or fifteen. Or sixteen. 

Not when they move to Australia for better health care for their dad. 

For a long time, she’s alone in her secret. 

And then, miraculously, she meets Callie. 

And even more miraculously than that, Callie never thinks she’s too much. She lets her talk at her rapid fire pace, she lets her fidget and never judges her for forgetting things. Not once has she ever thought Jay was rude when she interrupted a conversation. Callie loves to dance, she’s incredible at it, and when she rehearses she lets Jay dance with her. She’s always offbeat and clumsy, but it helps her focus her energy, she can be hyper without worrying about others. 

She, put simply, can just be. 

Chapter Text

If looks could kill, Callie would be six feet under. 

Well, her leg would be, anyway. 

She glares at the brace in the mirror, upset and bored. Normally the room would be filled with music and the sound of feet moving. Currently, however, it’s filled with nothing but silence. 

She sharpens her gaze. 

“Darling, as incredible as you are, I don’t think you glaring at it is going to do anything,” A short pause “Unless, of course, I’m reading this all wrong and you’re glaring because after fourteen years, you suddenly need glasses and you’re actually squinting.” 

Against her will, she laughs. Her father grins at her in the mirror, rather proud of himself. “How many fingers am I holding up?” He lifts two, a mock seriousness on his face. 

“Four. Not only do I need glasses, I’m seeing double. Might have a concussion.” 

That earns her a surprised bark of laughter and he shakes his head in amusement. She turns to face him properly instead of looking at him in the mirror. “I hate this.” 

His smile grows smaller, but it doesn’t disappear. “I know, darling. You only have one more week of it. Does it hurt?” 

“No,” She shakes her head. “Not a lot, at least not anymore.” Sighing deeply, she walks out of the room and he follows. “I want to dance. I’m so tired of not being able to dance.” 

They walk to her room together and she flops backwards onto her bed. “Being able to walk is great, but I’d much rather be dancing.” 

“I know. I wish you could.” He gives her a look and suddenly she hates how well her father knows her. “Especially because of tomorrow.” He comes and flops down next to her and they both stare at the constellations that decorate her ceiling. “I’ll tell you what. Next week, we’ll take out the telescope, find the highest place we can, and we can both dance for her. I’ll look terrible doing it, but it’s the thought that counts, huh?” 

She smiles only for a moment. “..but we aren’t going to be here next week. We’re going to be in Australia. My spot..her spot is here. In Ireland. Not Australia.” 

“I know, kiddo. I know.” There’s a sadness in his voice and she feels guilty, but he continues. “It won’t be the same, but it’ll still matter. “It’ll be you dancing, and her watching you from her spot in the stars. That’s all she’d want.” 

Her eyes move to the Lyra constellation that’s directly over her bed and she blinks back her tears. The two of them had rearranged the stars after her mom died. Now the constellation her mom shared a name with watches over her even indoors. 

It goes unsaid that this and all the other constellations will be the first thing added to her new room when they move. She hopes he’s right, that it won’t matter where she dances, just that she does. “Why is my name Calliope instead of Kalliope?” 

She hears him chuckle slightly. “You know why.” 

She does. He’s told her why a thousand times, and she’s going to make sure he tells her a million times, so she never forgets. “Tell me again.” She closes her eyes. 

“Your mom refused it. I had begged her, basically, to let us name you after a star. Because I love space, because she loved dancing, because she shined always, but especially when she was dancing. But she said ‘Our daughter is going to do more than shine, our daughter is going to be a force of nature.’ And so, both because I agreed with her and because I love space, I said ‘How about an asteroid, then?’. She agreed. Unfortunately, she hated K names,” 

She smiles genuinely at that, remembering her mothers dislike of the letter K, though she never knew the reason behind it. 

“So, we met in the middle and named you Calliope instead of Kalliope. She liked that even more because of the Greek Muse, so we named you after an asteroid, and after a Muse. She was right, god help us, you are a force of nature, that storm on the night you were born, worst I’ve…” 

His voice fades as she falls asleep. She dreams of stars, of dancing beside them. And for the first time, she dreams of swimming in the sea of space. 

The next day, after they blow out candles on a small cake for her mom, they begin to pack up the boxes for the move. 

They pack for hours, and she can’t help it, because she’s fourteen, but she’s bored. And sad. “Hey, dad?” 

“Yeah, kiddo?” He’s carefully packing away all of the things he’s collected over his life, being extra delicate with certain pieces. 

“Can I go for a walk? To say goodbye. To here. To the cliff.” 

He looks over his shoulder at her. “I don’t know. It’s a long walk and I’m not sure you can make it on your ankle.” 

“Please?”

He glances at the clock which tells him it’s a little past seven o’clock. She knows the way perfectly, he knows that. He hesitates, but understanding that it’s important to her to say goodbye to the spot her mom loved, especially on her birthday, he gives in. “Alright. If you’re not home by,” He pauses, considering. “Eleven, I’m calling the police. Do you understand?” 

She beams at him and nods. “Perfectly! Thank you, dad!” 

She rushes out the door and he smiles. Looking up, he chuckles and shakes his head. “Miss you, my love. My Lyra. My star.” He smiles. “Force of nature, indeed, our daughter is.” 

Callie may be a dancer, used to moving and jumping for hours at a time, but damn, this hike always exhausts her. It’s worth it, though. It’s so incredibly worth it. 

She can see everything from the cliff top. The stars, the ocean. Here, from this view, they look like the same thing. The light of the moon reflects on the water and she smiles. The peace is always worth it, too. The quiet, and the breeze. “I’m sorry I can’t dance for you, mom.” A memory comes to mind of her mother spinning as graceful as a swan right in the spot she’s standing. “I know I’ve done it every birthday for the last six years. Ever since you..left.” She can’t bring herself to say the word died. “I’m going to miss Ireland. I’m going to miss this spot. Almost as much as I miss you.” Her lower lip trembles. “Dad misses you too. I don’t want to move. I can tell he doesn’t either. But it’s work. I don’t think I could ever be mad at him for it, either.” 

She lets her tears fall. “I’m scared, mom. I know I was born there, but I’ve been raised here. Like you were. What if that’s not where I’m supposed to be? I guess..I’m asking for a sign. It doesn’t have to be a shooting star or anything but..I don’t know.” When she’s only met with the sound of the ocean and the wind, she sighs. “Dumb thing to ask for, I guess. I love you mom.” 

When she’s taking the walk home, it’s so quiet she almost misses it. The breeze picks up slightly, and she hears it. Wind chimes. Her feet begin to move almost of their own accord. “..mom?” She shakes her head. No. She feels..something. But it’s not her mom. 

The wind chimes fade away, but she doesn’t care at this point. She stares at the small sea cave and makes her way towards it. There’s a perfect view of the moon and she doesn’t know what compels her, but she steps into the water and she’s surprised to find it warm. She smiles at the moon, and then gasps as the water around her begins to bubble. It worries her at first, but then she realizes that maybe this is the sign she asks for, and she relaxes. 

“Happy birthday, mom.” 

Losing her mother was the hardest thing Callie had ever gone through. 

Not telling her father about the tail she grew the next day was a close second. 

Chapter Text

Amy sighs in annoyance at the sound of her brother knocking on her door in a pattern she assumes is meant to be music. To her though, it’s just knocking. She loves her brother, but she does not love this habit of his “I’m coming! Just finishing getting dressed!” 

“I got mom to make waffles with strawberry chips instead of chocolate chips!” He sounds so excited that she can’t help but smile. Annoying habits aside, they get along well, although they’re not close. 

“I promise I’ll be out in a minute!” She opens her closet and hears him scamper off down the hall. Looking at her options, she pulls out a pair of pink jeans that she had painted sunflowers on, a simple white shirt, and a thin yellow cardigan. After getting dressed, she puts her hair in a simple ponytail and leaves her room, heading downstairs to their kitchen. “Morning!” 

Her dad smiles at her behind his cup of coffee and her mom sets a plate in front of her. “Amy,” She lets out a small laugh. “You’ve got paint on your face, love.” 

“I do?” None of them are shocked, really. With all the painting she does, it’d be odd for her to not have paint somewhere. Her mom runs a paper towel under warm water and gently wipes her cheek. It comes away blue and she smiles sheepishly. “Oh. It’s probably from last night, I was making my own Starry Night, but with pastels.” 

Her dad makes a pleased humming sound. “Ooh, that’s one of my favorite Van Gogh paintings! Might have to steal it for our bedroom once you’re done.” He winks at her and she beams. 

“Is my Spider Man done?” Her brother pipes up from her left, mouth half full with waffles. She hears her mom scold him for talking with his mouth full but she’s already answering. 

“Give me a day or two to finish the crocheting and he’ll be perfect.” 

He grins and dives back into waffles. 

Their mom sits across from Amy and smiles gently. “Do you have any plans for today, sweetheart? It’s Friday so if you’d like you can invite some friends over for a sleepover.” 

She can’t make eye contact with her mom, focusing on the food in front of her. “Um, maybe. I think everyone is busy.” 

“Well, whenever you want to invite people over you can! We’d love to meet your friends. Make sure they know that they’re always welcome!” 

She feels guilty, but more than that, she feels embarrassed. Said friends do not exist. Every day she has to come home with made up stories of made up people and always an excuse ready for why her family hasn’t met them yet. It’s not for lack of trying. She’s just too introverted, and a lot of people her age find her odd. She’s become invisible in a way, and she prefers that to bullying. “I’ll let them know, I promise.” 

“Hey, Amy, right?” 

She looks up from the books she’s been reading to see Summer Daniels and a few of her friends. It’s no secret that Summer is considered one of the most popular people in their school and Amy can’t help but feel shocked that she’s talking to her. “I-um-,” She stutters and goes red, immediately embarrassed. “Yeah. I’m Amy.” 

“I thought so!” She and the rest of her friends, Willow, Riley and Amelia join her at the small lunch table. “So, we’re wondering if you want to come to a party. It’s going to be a bonfire at Mako.” 

Amy feels like she could pass out. Her heart begins to flutter like a hummingbird and she takes a second to answer, trying to remind herself to breathe. “You want me to come to a party?” 

“Yeah, absolutely! It’s going to be a blast. What do you say?” 

Amy beams and immediately nods. “Sure, I’d love to. I just need to check in with my parents.” 

Summer grins, sugary sweet. “Awesome. Meet us at the docks at six, okay?” The group gets up and walks off before she can respond, but Amy can’t find it in her to care. She’s excited. For the first time, she’s been invited somewhere, by Summer Daniels, no less. Maybe now she’ll be able to turn her lies about having friends into actual true stories. She’ll have people for her mom and dad to meet. She knows they for her, with how shy and quiet she is, and she’s hopeful that this will reassure them. 

Tomorrow she’ll curse herself. She’ll hate herself for missing the signs. How Summer’s smile was too sweet, how the group glanced at each other, the quiet snickers as they walked away. She’ll hate how naive she was, how hopeful. 

But that’s tomorrow. 

And today, she notices none of it. 

“Mom, dad, are you home?” She practically runs into her house, almost tripping over her own feet. 

“In here, love!” All three of them are in the living room watching a movie and her mom pauses it. “Is everything okay?” 

“I was wondering, would it be okay if my friends and I stayed out a little late tonight? There’s going to be a bonfire at Mako island.” 

Her mom smiles at her, and Amy doesn’t miss the slight relief in it. “That sounds like it’ll be a great time! What do you think, Sam?” 

Her dad thinks for a few moments before answering. “Mako, huh? Will you be camping?” 

Amy shakes her head. “No, we’ll probably only stay a few hours. We’re going at six.” 

He nods his head. “Alright, I don’t see why not! Just be careful, okay?” 

She lets out a squeal and nods, running up to her room. “I promise!” 

A few hours later, Amy is at the docks, dressed in jean shorts that she’s painted cherry blossoms on, a pink shirt, and her yellow bikini underneath. “Amy, over here!” She walks towards the boat that Summer and her friends are waiting in. “Glad you could make it! Obviously you know Riley, Willow and Amelia. This is Christian and Hunter, they wanted to tag along, hope you don’t mind.” 

She climbs into the boat and shakes her head. “Of course not, it’s nice to meet you!” 

Hunter sends her a smirk. “You too.”

They make small talk for about ten minutes before Summer changes the subject. “Oh, you’ll never guess who got on my case again today.” 

Riley rolls her eyes and picks at her nails. “Ellie Finch?” 

Summer lets out a scoff. “Yep. She’s so high and mighty! She’s always complaining about how I train Starling, she thinks she’s better than everyone.” 

Willow nods in agreement. “It’s totally because she's, like, super rich.” Christian snorts at that. When Summer glares at her, she’s quick to add in, “I mean, you’re rich too! But you’re cool about it. Plus she’s such a goody goody.” 

Amy frowns at that. She doesn’t know Ellie well, but she’s interacted with her and her best friend Lucy a handful of times and she’s never gotten the vibe that she’s anything but kind. “Really? She’s always been nice to me. Lucy, too.” 

“Oh god,” Summer throws her head back and groans dramatically. “Don’t even get me started on the trash that is Lucy Adams.” 

Amy opens her mouth to defend them, but before she can, Mako comes into view. The rest of the group gets excited and the topic is immediately dropped. Christian and Hunter pull the boat closer to shore and they all hop out. 

Amy doesn’t notice that they all exchange glances, she’s too focused on the island. She’s tempted to draw it, and she probably will when she gets home. “Hey, Amy. Could you do us a favor and get some firewood? We can’t make a fire without it and Hunter totally forgot to bring supplies. He’s going to look further down the beach, maybe you can search the jungle a bit?” 

Wanting to desperately fit in, and always eager to please, she of course agrees. It takes her about ten minutes to find as many sticks as she can carry, and she quickly makes her way back to the group. 

Her heart drops when she sees they’ve all moved back into the boat and the engine is going. “Wait! What are you doing?!” 

By now, they’re all laughing at her and she’s trying not to cry. “Did you really think we’d want to be around a loser like you?” 

Her bottom lip trembles and she drops all of the sticks in her arms. “I don’t understand! Why are you doing this?” 

Summer laughs and it’s a cruel, twisted sound. “Why not? We’re bored, and you were an easy target! Don’t worry, I’m sure the water police will come when someone realizes you’re gone..probably in the morning! Have fun sleeping on the island!” The roar of the engine drowns out the sound of their hysterical laughter and Amy sobs as they get farther away. 

She sits in the sand for a long while, body wracking with tears until her eyes are red. It’s dark by the time she stands up, and freezing. She only has her phone's flashlight and she decides to use it to get to higher ground in hopes of getting a signal. 

After climbing for what feels like hours, she sees an opening near a ravine and immediately backs away from it, not wanting to fall down. 

The universe however, has other plans, and a strong gust of wind comes from seemingly nowhere, causing her to slip and go sliding down the tunnel. When she lands, her breath is knocked out of her and she immediately takes in a gasping breath. Desperately, she tries to climb up the way she came, but it’s impossible. 

She lets out a sob of defeat and turns towards what seems almost like a staircase. It leads her to the center of a volcano where a pool sits directly under it. Knowing it’s her only chance of getting out, she walks into the pool. A few seconds later, the full moon aligns perfectly with the top of the volcano and the water begins to bubble and sparkle around her. It’s both beautiful and scary, and she quickly dives and swims to the surface. 

For a moment she contemplates trying to swim back to the beach, but the roar of an engine stops her. She thinks maybe they’ve come back to her, and considers that maybe dying of hypothermia is better than dying of embarrassment but she quickly realizes it’s a different boat altogether. It’s smaller, and the only occupant is an older man. 

She recognizes him. It’s Mr. Boone. She’s seen him fishing many times in multiple spots and she knows he lives in a small house on the beach with his wife. The boat pulls up beside her and he reaches out a hand. “Here, Darlin’ let me pull you up.” She takes his hand gratefully and he helps her into the boat. “Here, you’re going to catch your death at this rate.” He wraps an old blanket around her and while it’s slightly scratchy, it’s warm and she curls into herself. 

“How,” She shivers. “How did you know I was here?” 

He gives her a warm smile. “I didn’t. I come out here sometimes.” He begins to drive them back to the docks. “What in the world are you doing out here?” 

Teeth chattering, she pulls the old blanket tighter around herself. “I..thought people wanted to be my friend. It was a trick. They left me there.” 

He frowns and shakes his head. “Kids can be so damn cruel. I’m sorry this happened to you, darlin’, we’ll be back in no time.” 

“Amy. My name is Amy.” 

“Well then,” He reaches out a hand and she shakes it. “Nice to meet you, Amy. I’m Jack Boone.” 

She smiles the tiniest bit. “I know. I think a lot of people know you and your wife. You like to fish,” He lets out a bark of warm, kind laughter at that and nods. “Is that why you were out here?” 

“Ah, no.” He looks ahead. “I, well, you see, Mako reminds me of some people. People who are no longer in my life. My wife, and my brother.” She opens her mouth and he seems to know exactly what she’s about to say. “My first wife, I mean. She passed a long, long time ago, about forty years ago now. My brother, or well technically, my half brother passed almost sixteen years ago. Mako meant a lot to them, so sometimes I come out here.” 

“I’m sorry. What were their names?” 

He smiles like he’s touched that she’s asking. “My wife was named Maeve, and my brother was Max. Max Hamilton.” 

When they reach the docks, he ties his boat and helps her step out. “Mr B-Jack, I don’t know how to thank you, sir.” 

He pats her shoulder gently. “Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad I was there. But I want you to listen to me. What those kids did was cruel. You seem like a good kid, Amy, and I think that you’re going to be just fine, and eventually you’re going to find friends that are good to you. I know it’s cheesy, and probably repetitive, but it really does get be-oof!” He stumbled backwards as she hugs him and then chuckles as he returns it. “Get home safe darlin’!” 

He watches as she runs off and sighs, turning to stare at Mako in the far distance. 

Amy opens the door quietly, trying to be discreet. She doesn’t want her parents to ask her how it was. If they did, she wouldn’t be able to hold the tears back. 

When she walks in however, her mother and father are sitting at the kitchen, both looking sad, her dad looks much sadder than her mom, though. “Oh, Amy. Are you alright? You’re shivering.” Her mom helps her walk upstairs. “You and your friends went swimming, I’m guessing?” 

“Is dad okay?” 

She sighs. “It’s his sister, your aunt. She’s sicker.” 

“What? But I thought she was getting better!” Her mother knows how much her aunt means to her. How close they are. “What’s going to happen?” 

“We’ll all talk it out in the morning, sweetheart. Get some sleep.” She leaves Amy’s room and gently shuts the door behind her. 

Amy tries. She really does. But in the end the sadness, embarrassment, and grief won, and she cries herself to sleep. 

The next morning, she decides to finish her painting of Starry Night. Reaching over for a different brush, she accidentally knocks the cup of paint colored water onto her desk and onto her feet. She sighs in frustration and tries to dry her desk. 

She stops a few seconds later, her body feeling strange. The next thing she knows, she’s on the floor, staring at the golden copper tail that has replaced her legs. 

Her brother knocks a song on her door, but she doesn’t answer. 

Less than a month later, they move to Florida to take care of her aunt. 

And ten months later, her aunt dies. 

Chapter Text

To say that everyone looked horrified would be an understatement. There are four sets of eyes on her, all conveying different emotions, but there was one that was the same for all of them. 

Anger. 

“Hypothetically, if Summer were to..mysteriously disappear, would we be on the list of the suspects?” While Lucy is mostly joking, there’s a tone in her voice that makes Amy think Sunmer might wind up on a missing persons list soon. 

Jay, for the first time, seems to be in agreement with Lucy. “Talk about despicable. That’s..awful Amy, I’m sorry you went through that.” 

Amy looks down at the water and shrugs. “It wasn’t all bad. I wouldn’t have become a mermaid if it wasn’t for that night. I think I’d like to stop talking about it for now.” 

Ellie nods from where she’s sitting cross legged on the sand. “Of course. If you ever want to talk about it more we’re here but you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I do wonder why Mr. Boone visits the island, though. I’ve heard him tell kids to stay away whenever he overhears a conversation on the beach.”

“I’m honestly just glad he was there.” 

“So,” Lucy moves from the back of the moon pool, swimming to the small platform where the other three are leaning on their forearms. “Those were some insane origin stories.” 

Jay snorts at that. “You know what’s actually insane?” She directs her gaze to Ellie who hasn’t joined the others in the pool. 

She rolls her eyes, sighing. “No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me.” 

“The fact that you drove a boat here instead of swimming when you’re a literal mermaid.”

Callie gives Jay a look and shakes her head. “Let’s not start, okay? The adjustment process is different for everyone.” Ellie smiles at her, thankful, and she returns it. “Besides, we’re not here to talk about that. Where do we even begin?” 

“Why not start with what we know?” Ellie sits up straighter, and pulls her phone from her pocket. “I’ll type it up in my notes.” 

Callie speaks up first. “Well, we know that on the night you and Lucy transformed, it was different. There was that strange shockwave, and a shooting star.” 

“And our tails changed colors.” Jay looks down at her newly purple tail. “Can’t say I hate it, if we’re being honest.” 

Ellie makes a humming noise to show she’s listening, typing away on her phone. Amy is the next to speak up. “All of us were in the general vicinity when it happened.” 

Lucy’s brows furrow and she tilts her head, something clicking in her mind. “Wait a second.” She looks at Callie. “The night you transformed in the Ireland moon pool, you heard wind chimes, right?” When she nods, Lucy glances at Jay. “And you were basically compelled to go into the Florida moon pool, that it felt like something in the water was calling you?” She doesn’t wait for Jay to confirm it and turns to Amy. “A gust of wind knocked you down the entrance.” 

Ellie stops typing when she realizes why Lucy is asking. “And..my dads boat was mysteriously damaged, it felt like we went over rocks but there weren’t any. We had no choice but to swim to mako and go to higher ground to try and find a signal.” 

“Are you..implying what I think you’re implying?” 

Amy’s eyes widen slightly, catching up to the others' thoughts. “Was this..done to us on purpose?” 

“No,” Ellie immediately looks panicked. “No way. That implies that there’s so much more of this! I’m barely dealing with what’s happening on a surface level, I absolutely cannot-“

“Ellie.” Lucy’s voice is gentle but firm and her best friend locks eyes with her. “Breathe.” 

She takes in a gasping breath, hands trembling slightly. She does the breathing exercises that Amy had taught her until she calms down. “Sorry. I’m sorry.” 

Jay looks at her with a guilty expression, feeling bad for the previous remark she made. “Is this really that awful for you?”

“I don’t know. I..there’s too much going on in my head.” 

Callie reaches out to put a hand on her knee before pulling it back when she realizes it would get her wet. “I think talking about it will help get you through it. We can help. I mean, Jay has already been doing this for three years.” 

Ellie takes in a deep breath and closes her eyes. “My whole life, I’ve strived to be perfect. I have a plan. A specific plan for my life, and suddenly I’m this. I have a tail, and powers, and that’s changing so much in my life. And now that it’s pretty obvious it was done on purpose makes it worse. I don’t know how I’m going to get used to this.”

“You won’t.” Lucy glares at Jay but she puts a hand up, wordlessly telling her to let her continue. “You’re a mermaid, dude,” She lets out a breathy laugh. “That’s impossible to get used to. But this doesn’t have to be a scary thing. We’re these incredible creatures and there’s a lot of beauty in it. Like Callie said, you can adjust. But you won’t ever get used to it. You aren’t letting yourself face this fear. Sometimes the only way out is through.” 

She leans back against the cave wall, staring up at the opening of the volcano. “Why me? Why would something pick me to be a mermaid? Maybe there’s a way I can get rid of my tail,” She looks at Jay. “Do you know how to do that?” 

Jay shakes her head, frowning. “No. I don’t think that’s even possible.” 

“What am I meant to do, then?” 

“I mean,” Amy reaches out a hand towards her. “You can..try? Just once? We can show you what it’s like. Just a quick swim over the reef before we go home, if you hate it, then we’ll figure something out, but I really don’t think you will.” 

Ellie looks warily at them all. She locks eyes with Lucy who gives her an encouraging smile. “What’s the worst that can happen? Not like you’re going to drown,” Jay smirks slightly at the joke which makes Callie shoot her a hopeful look, silently praying that after tonight they could all develop a genuine friendship. 

Ellie takes a deep breath. “Okay,” She exhales, standing up and taking Amy’s hand. “Let’s do this.” 

At first, the feeling of the transformation makes her panic. She almost gives into it, the primal urge to fight against her body changing into an unfamiliar form. Instead, she gives in. She allows it to happen, she leans into, embraces it. 

And suddenly, it’s different. 

It’s warmth, instead of that icy cold fear. She opens her eyes and glances around at the others. They look worried, but hopeful. Slowly, she begins to move. The swimming is almost second nature. It reminds her of riding Caspian, how they practically become one singular being instead of two. 

That makes it easier, and, feeling confident, she moves a bit faster. She swims towards a reef and smiles as the fish move around her, seemingly unafraid. The others join her and before she knows it, the sun has started to set. 

They surface close to shore and she lets out a laugh of disbelief. “I did it!” 

Lucy laughs and splashes her with water. “Hell yeah you did! I knew you’d love it.” 

Callie gives her an encouraging smile. “You did really well Ellie. I know that can’t have been easy.” 

She moves her hair away from her face and breathes in. “I didn’t know we could hold our breath for that long!” 

Jay scoffs playfully. “Are you kidding? That was only forty minutes at most. My record is two hours! I bet we could go even longer.” 

“We should head home now, you guys. It’s getting dark.” Amy turns to look at the sunset. “Are you taking The Luna?” 

“I have too, I can’t exactly leave it on Mako.” 

Lucy swims closer to her. “I’ll come with you, I can dry us off.” 

Callie, Amy, and Jay give quick goodbyes before diving back under and swimming off. 

“Alright, Fishy, let’s get back to the boat.” 

Lucy is underwater by the time Ellie comes up with a retort to the familiar nickname. 

When they get to their table and sit down to eat, Ellie looks at her bag that she had set on the floor. “You alright, Els?” She nods in response to Lucy, and, having made up her mind, she reaches into one of the small pockets and pulls out a box. 

Amy and Lucy watch as she takes out the moon charm and the snowflake charm, and carefully attaches them to the bracelet on her wrist. She gives them a smile when she notices that they’re both beaming at her. “I think it’s about time I put these on, yeah?” 

Lucy smirks and nudges her shoulder. “Proud of you.” 

She blushes and rolls her eyes. “Oh shut it. It’s not a big deal.” 

All three of them know that it actually is. 

Like last time, they hear someone clear their throat and they all look up to see Jay and Callie once again looking at them. This time though, both girls are smiling. “Room for two more?” 

“Absolutely.” 

Callie sits down next to Lucy, and Jay sits across from them next to Amy. For a few moments it’s awkward, but then Callie speaks up. “It’s kind of weird this is the only lunch table with five seats, right?” 

Jay shrugs and leans backwards, grinning. “Maybe the universe planned that too.” 

When they all laugh at the same time, the conversation that begins after makes it feel like they’ve been friends for years. The five of them fit together naturally and for the first time, Ellie finds herself being grateful that somebody had purposefully made sure that she was one of the people who turned into a mermaid. 

It was a good feeling. 

And the blooming friendship was an even better one. 

Back on Mako Island, in the moon pool, a figure steps forward, staring into the water. 

She stares up at the center of the volcano and blinks as tears begin to flow down her cheeks. “I was successful this time. I didn’t fail you again.” She looks down at the pool in sadness. “But I failed so many times in the past. I do not deserve it, but I hope you’ll forgive me. I will do better. What happened with the others will not happen again. I’ve gotten it right this time. I know I have. I miss you, my sisters. It shatters me to know I will never be reunited with our pod again. With you all. All I can do now is make everything right.” 

She breathes in deeply, and fiddles with the blue stoned ring that has her name engraved on the inside of it. 

Eva. 

When the sun begins to rise, she vanishes. 

Chapter Text

Ireland, 1715 

“We are running out of time. The comet will be here within a fortnight.” 

“There have been no humans who have been here and transformed, and we will not have another chance. The next full moon will not be here in time.” 

“What are we to do? We cannot simply sit by and let our home be destroyed! Our ancestors were here-“

“Send me.” 

Seven heads turn to stare at Eva. “Forgive me for interrupting, council. But I believe I know of a solution. Send me.” 

One of them frowns deeply. “No. We know that only a person who has been transformed can stop the comet. Someone of both land and sea.” 

Eva swims closer, determination in her eyes. “I will transform myself. I will become human. I will walk among them. Would that not make me from both sea and land? Like you have said, Miella, we are out of time. Let me try. I have earned my moon ring, I have mastered my abilities. I can do this. Please.” 

The council begins to whisper amongst themselves for what feels like hours. Eventually, Miella turns and Eva almost falters when she sees the emotions in her face. Proud, fear, hope, and so many others. “You may go. You may do this. You may try. But know that you will be alone. We will not be able to help you, sister.” 

Another, Imris, speaks. “We will be leaving until we know it is safe to return. If something happens to you, if you die-“ 

Eva interrupts once again. “I know. I know what happens if I die.” 

A third mermaid, Niamh, swims close to her. “You will need a new identity. Humans use two names.” 

Eva nods at her. “I have heard many. O’cleary is the one I will use.” 

“Then go, Eva O’cleary. Save our home. And return to it.” 

Before she is able to go back under the water, one of the mermaids reaches out and hugs her tightly. “You are our last hope. Please come back, sister.” 

Eva holds her tightly in return. “I will, Thalia, I swear it.” 

Eva O’cleary made many promises that night. 

She kept only one. 

Present Day

The best thing about being an extremely early riser is, as Ellie has come to learn, the sunrise from underwater. It’s like waking up with the sea. Light slowly moves across the water, making the reefs look brighter and the fish seem to almost dance in the beams of light. 

After a lap around mako, she makes her way towards the moon pool entrance. Halfway there, she notices something on the bottom of the sand. If not for the sun moving across it perfectly, causing a glint, she would have never noticed it at all. She swims to it slowly, not wanting to cause the sand to move around her and make it hard to see. 

When she reaches the bottom, she gently removes a large clam shell that had been placed in front of some beautifully colored coral. Her eyes widen slightly when she sees what had caused the glint. There, in the piece of coral, are four lockets. They are identical, except for the stones that sit on top of them. Carefully, she collects them one by one, and looks towards the moon pool entrance. They were close, and she wonders if they had been placed here by divers or by mermaids. 

Forgoing her visit to the moon pool, she jets off back to the beach. 

Once she dries, she stands and grabs her bag that she had hidden behind a rock. She places the lockets inside and then grabs her phone to check the time. It’s fifteen past seven, so she has plenty of time for what she’s going to do next. 

Summer is not here, and that is an immense relief. She’s already nervous, and her presence would make everything worse. Taking in a deep breath, she walks towards Caspian’s stall. “Alright, bud, let’s try this-oh.” 

There’s a boy standing in his stall, his brown, slightly wavy hair has clearly just been freed from a helmet and him brushing down Caspian makes it clear they’ve just finished a ride. “You must be Quentin. Mrs. Chatta said you’ve been taking care of Caspian for me while I’ve been..sick. I appreciate it.” He doesn’t turn around or even acknowledge her. “Um, hello?” She frowns and steps into the stall, tapping him on the shoulder. 

He jumps, startled and spins around so quickly she’s worried he might have whiplash. “Holy shit you scared me!” He laughs, hand on his heart. 

Ellie smiles apologetically. “Sorry, I tried to-“ 

“Hold that thought.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small device, putting it around the back of his ear and attaching a different piece to the side of his head. “Sorry, I don’t like to wear my sound processor around the horses, you never know. I’m Quentin, by the way. What were you saying?” 

Ellie is immediately embarrassed. “Oh! I’m sorry, I thought you were ignoring me, I didn’t realize that you’re..” 

She trails off and he grins at her. “Deaf. I’m deaf. You can say it. What were you saying before?”

She blushes and nods. “I’m Ellie.” 

His eyes light up and for some reason her blush darkens. “Caspian’s owner! It’s super cool to meet you. I want to thank you for letting me take care of him while you’ve been gone. It's great practice for me and you’ve got one incredible horse on your hands.” 

Ellie beams, proud. “He is pretty incredible. Sometimes I think we’re psychically linked. He pretty much knows what I want him to do without me even asking.” 

Quentin moves out of the stall and she moves aside. “He’s missed you, I think. I think he’s been worried about you. They can feel what we feel, you know?” 

She nods at him. “Definitely. He-“ 

Oh. 

Oh. 

She lets out a breathy laugh and Quentin tilts his head. “Did I say something funny?” She notices his hands twitch slightly and he notices that she has. He gives her another smile. “I use sign language a lot, so my hands are usually always ready. But me, personally, I don’t really use it when I don’t need to. Let me guess, you’re laughing at my helmet hair? That’s rude y’know.” He winks at her playfully. 

She quickly shakes her head, giggling. “No, no sorry. Do you mind if I finish the grooming? I’ve really missed him.” 

“He’s your horse, you don’t have to ask for my permission,” He smiles at her. “I do have to admit I’ll miss him a little. I’ll see you around, okay?” 

He begins to walk away and Ellie slowly opens the stall door. She hesitates for a moment, before yelling out to him. “Wait!” He turns and raises an eyebrow. She does a fast walk over him. “Sometimes I’m not able to visit him after school. Before school is always a guarantee, but after isn’t. Maybe, if you want, you can ride him or hang out with him when I can’t? I can also give you lessons, if you’d like, on Sundays. I’ve done a few before for the kids who come during summer camp.” 

He blinks at her. “Wait, seriously? That..yeah I’d love that! Thank you!” He reaches out a hand. “Can I put my number in your phone?” 

Oh god. The blush is back. “I-um-of course.” She reaches into her pocket and pulls out her phone, unlocking it for him before handing it to him. 

He makes a contact for himself but before he gives it back, he takes a quick selfie, which makes her laugh, and makes it his contact picture. “All set. I’m sure I’ll see you around school, looking forward to those lessons!” 

She watches him go until he’s out of her sight and then returns to Caspian. He seems hesitant of her and while it hurts, she pushes through it. “I know. I’m different now, aren’t I? You can feel it. And you can feel that I was terrified.” She reaches out and gently pets his muzzle. “I’m not anymore though, and I don’t want you to be either.” She puts his halter on and attaches the lead rope, slowly guiding him out of the stall and towards one of the round pens. 

She’s done a join up with him before, when she first got him. And another time after a bad fall that had scared both of them. 

Doing a join up now will establish that she still trusts him, and that he still trusts her. Once in the pen, she removes the halter and steps into the middle of the pen. She clicks her tongue at him and he immediately begins to trot. When she thinks he’s ready, she asks him to canter, which he does. 

For a few minutes she lets him canter around her until she tells him to halt. He does, and she turns her back to him. This is the most important part of it. He will either reject her, or show that he still trusts her. 

After three minutes, Ellie is almost ready to call it quits for the day, dejected. And then she feels him walk directly behind her, and he gently taps her with his muzzle.

She lets out a wet laugh, eyes watering as she turns to him, resting her forehead against his. “There’s my boy.” 

And just like that, it’s as if nothing ever changed between them. 

Ellie smiles as she walks into English class, waving at Lucy and then Jay, who both wave back. She takes her usual seat and opens her phone, going into the group text they have that Jay had named “Fish are friends, not food.” -that name had gotten Lucy to laugh so hard she cried- And sends a quick text, asking them all to meet up at her house after school. She gets four thumbs up reactions and smiles, clicking her phone off as their teacher walks in. 

After class, Ellie walks out with Lucy and Jay, but stops when her name is called. She looks back at their teacher as she talks. “I’d like you to stay back for a minute.” Her heart drops into her stomach. This has to be about her failing grade on the essay. 

“Do you want us to wait for you?”

She looks back to Lucy and Jay and shakes her head. “No, it’s fine.” 

“You sure?” Jay questions, raising an eyebrow. 

“I’m sure. I’ll catch up.” She walks back into the classroom and prepares herself for the lecture she knows is coming. 

She stands in front the desk and Mrs. Bishil clears her throat. “Ellie,” She begins. She immediately looks down at her shoes. Here it comes. “I owe you an apology.” Her head snaps up and her eyes widen. “During the grading I mixed up your essay with another students. You did not fail. I’ve edited your grade on the website. I’m sorry again. You should go now before you’re late for your next class.” 

She does exactly that but quickly pulls out her phone and logs in to the website to see her actual grade. 

An A stares back and she beams, practically skipping to science class. She shares that class with Callie and Lucy and both give her confused looks and she once again types in their group chat, showing a screenshot of the grade and explaining the mixup. 

Amy reacts with a heart emoji, and she sees that Jay is typing. 

“Bet it was Summer who actually failed.” 

When she hears Lucy laugh from the back of the classroom she knows she’s seen it too. 

Ellie’s smile does not leave her face for the rest of the school day. 

“This is where you live?” Jay stares, eyes wide, at the barn loft her parents had had built for her. “Jesus Christ, how rich are you?” 

Wincing, she wraps her arms around herself. “I-“ 

Immediately sensing her best friends discomfort, and knowing how uncomfortable it makes her feel to talk about her wealth, Lucy quickly changes the subject. “Why’d you want us to meet here, Els?” 

Ellie sits down at the coffee table and the others follow her, Lucy and Jay deciding to sit on the floor. Ellie opens her bag and carefully pulls out the four lockets. “I found these at mako.” 

Amy gapes at her. “In the moon pool?” 

“No, but close to the entrance.” 

“They’re beautiful.” Callie reaches out and gently picks up the one with the emerald stone. “Almost identical too.” 

Jay looks away from the lockets and to her. “Do you think a mermaid put them there?” 

Ellie shrugs. “I’m not sure, but it has to be that, right? They were so close to the entrance.” 

“Hey, wait,” Amy reaches for the one with a sapphire stone. “They match our tail colors.” 

Lucy hums in agreement, reaching for the one with the ruby. “And our powers, kind of.” 

Callie glances in Jay’s direction as Ellie looks at the one with the diamond. “Maybe we shouldn’t keep them. They were left there for a reason.” 

Seeing what her best friend is trying to do, Jay sighs and rolls her eyes. “Oh god, please do not tell me you feel bad for me. I’m fine, keep the lockets. Maybe they were meant to be found. I’m honestly fine.” 

Amy sees it, though. Like she had told them before, being ignored makes you talented at seeing things others don’t. There’s a bit of sadness on Jays face, minuscule, but there.

They all drop the subject and put on the lockets. Ellie gets the diamond, Lucy gets the ruby, Amy gets the sapphire, and Callie gets the emerald. 

Jay looks at them all and then stands up. “There’s something I want to do. Ellie, your parents aren’t home right?” 

Ellie nods, a bit sadly. “Yeah.” 

Jay walks outside and the others follow, confused. She stops by the pool and turns to them all. “Alright. You three,” she gestures to Amy, Lucy, and Ellie. “Show us what you’ve got.” 

“..What?” 

Callie lets out a grumpy sounding sigh that she doesn’t really mean, if the smile on her face is anything to go by. “Your powers. Jay, why don’t you go first. Show them what you’ve got.” 

Jay thinks for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, okay, that’s fair. Someone give me a color.” 

Confused, but still wanting to be helpful, Amy replies. “Um, orange?” 

Jay turns back to the pool and lifts her hand palm up. In a matter of seconds, the pool water changes to a bright orange. Ellie lets out a noise of concern and Jay changes it back. “That’s one power. Now for the second. Someone give me-“ 

“Space!” Callie knows exactly what’s happening and Jay laughs. This is not the first time Callie has asked this of her. She lifts her hand again, and suddenly the pool is a reflection of space. The Milky Way gleams and then vanishes when Jay lowers her hand. 

“So, you can change the color of liquids, and use liquids to make illusions?” Lucy questions. 

“The illusions are only on the surface but yes that’s pretty much it exactly. Oh! And I can do this.” She lifts her hand once more and a loud clap of thunder comes from nowhere. They all wince slightly at the volume of it. “Callie, you want to go next?” 

“Sure!” She skips over to the edge of the pool and moves her arm back, then moves it forward while twisting her hand, and the water in the pool turns into a jelly-like substance. When the water returns to normal, she does the gesture again, but faster, and the water crystallizes. 

Ellie makes a squeaking sound of distress. “Okay, hold on! Friendly reminder that this is my house and my parents are definitely going to notice if our pool is completely crystallized!” 

Callie giggles and shakes her head. “Don’t worry, Els. It’s only permanent if I want it to be.” The water goes back to normal and Ellie sighs in relief. “I have a third power but..I don’t think I can do it here safely.” 

Jay shrugs. “I think it’ll be fine. They’re tiny anyway.” 

“What’s tiny?” Lucy asks. 

Jay makes eye contact with Callie. “Your powers, your call.” 

Callie takes in a breath and one last time, repeats the motion, but this time she does it very slowly, and the ground around them begins to shake. She lets it last three seconds before she stops. 

All of them buy Jay look at her in shock. “Was that an earthquake?” Amy asks. 

“Yes. But I can only make them within a very small vicinity.” 

Lucy steps forward. “Can I go next?” 

“Go for it.” 

Lucy moves her hand over the pool and slowly clenches her fist. The water begins to bubble and steam and she stops. Then she repeats the motion but faster, and lightning strikes the water, setting one of the pool noodles on fire. 

The others jump back in shock and Lucy smiles apologetically. “I’ll get better at controlling it.” 

“Practice makes perfect, which is why I wanted to do this. Ellie, you want to go next?” 

Breathing in deeply, she nods. She puts her hand out in a stop motion and the pool freezes over. Jay makes a pleased hum. “Can you do it without liquids?” Ellie looks at the inflated swan and gives a silent apology before directing her hand towards it. It ices over, and when Ellie doesn’t stop right away, it explodes. 

Some instinct inside of her takes over, because she suddenly lifts her hand towards the sky, and clouds begin to form. 

Lucy lets out an impressed whistle which makes Ellie giggle. 

“Amy, last but not least.” 

Said girl steps forward and reaches her hand out, palm down and manipulates some of the water out of the pool. She makes a heart, a star, and finally a mermaid before dropping the water back in. She repeats the gesture, and a sudden gust of wind comes over them all before she stops it. 

For a moment, nobody says anything, but then Jay speaks up. “Honestly, we should all join the avengers.” 

They all laugh and Callie speaks up. “Anyone want to go to Roots? I desperately need a coffee.” 

Lucy throws her head back dramatically. “Yes, definitely. I would kill for a strawberry banana smoothie right now.” 

The other three agree to go as well and they begin the walk there. “This mermaid thing just keeps getting cooler.” 

Ellie bumps Lucy’s hip with her own. “What?! It does!” 

When they finally arrive, Amy notices a familiar face. “Mr. Boo-Jack!” 

The five of them stop as he notices them and begins to walk over. “Hello, Amy! Ellie, Lucy.” He nods at them. “And who might you two be?” 

“I’m Jay.” She reaches out to shake his head and he smiles at her. 

Callie, slightly hidden behind the others, moves forward and puts her hand out. “I’m-“ 

“Constance?” His face has gone pale and they realize he’s staring at Callie’s locket. 

Amy steps forward and puts a hand on his arm. “Jack?” 

He blinks and shakes his head, as if lost in a trance. “I’m sorry. For a moment..never mind, I’m alright.” He shakes Callie’s hand. “What’s your name?” 

“Callie. I’m Callie.” 

“Very nice to meet you. I better be on my way, this time of day is perfect for fishing. Bye girls.” He walks away from them and they all look at each other. 

“That was..weird.” Jay speaks up first. 

“Who’s Constance?” Callie asks. 

“No idea. C’mon, before I die of thirst.” Lucy leans back against Ellie. “I can feel it happening. I see the light.” 

Ellie rolls her eyes and they all walk inside the cafe. 

Jack lingers without them noticing, a small, wistful, smile on his face.

Chapter Text

Lucy groans as she stretches her arms behind her, laying back down on her beach towel with a happy sigh. “Thanks for coming out with me, guys. Els hates tanning.” 

Callie smiles and turns onto her stomach. “Jay hates it too.” 

Amy makes a humming noise from where she lays between them, eyes closed. “That’s because Ellie and Jay don’t tan, they burn.” 

Both Callie and Lucy let out shocked laughs as Amy giggles. “Amy! Never expected a joke from you.” 

The brunette shrugs and opens her eyes, grinning. “I’ve got a couple.” 

Simultaneously, their phones go off with a text from the group chat and Callie grabs hers, unlocking it. “Oh! Ellie wants to know if we all want to sleepover over at hers tonight. Jay said yes.” 

“I’m definitely in. What do you think Amy?” 

The brunette smiles widely and nods. “I’ve..actually never been to a sleepover before.” 

Callie and Lucy blink at her in shock. “Wait, what?” Callie nods at Lucy’s response, as if saying ‘What she said.’

Realizing what she had just said, Amy looks embarrassed and sad all at once. “I mean..you guys know I’ve never had friends before, not really, at least. I’ve been invisible my whole life.” 

Callie reaches out and gives her arm a gentle squeeze. “Well, you’re not invisible anymore. And you won’t ever be again, not while we’re around.” 

Nodding in agreement, Lucy grins at her. “We are going to make this the best sleepover ever.” 

“Did everyone reply?” Ellie walks back to where Jay is sitting, setting down a plate with various snacks before sitting down next to her. 

Jay quickly reaches out and grabs a cookie, nodding as she munches on it. She waits until her mouth isn’t full to speak. “Yup. They’re all in. Everyone's parents have agreed. This is going to be epic.” 

Ellie lets out a small laugh and grabs a carrot stick. “It’s only a sleepover.” 

“A mermaid sleepover! Who knows what shenanigans we’ll get up to?” 

The raven haired girl shakes her head. “Nope, no shenanigans!” When Jay opens her mouth to protest, Ellie points the carrot stick at her, trying her best to look menacing. “My loft, my rules. No shenanigans!” 

Jay laughs loudly but nods. “Okay, okay. No shenanigans. Just movies and board games.” She sticks her tongue out at Ellie who pretends to be appalled. “Maybe a couple horror movies, if our gracious host allows them.” 

“Well,” Ellie leans back in her chair, smirking. “Since you called me gracious, I suppose we can throw in a couple.” 

The redhead grins back, before it slips away and she looks down at her lap awkwardly. “Hey, so, I’m sorry. I was really cruel to you about your anxiety about all of this. It’s not an excuse, but I really didn’t know it was so bad that it gave you panic attacks. I can be blunt sometimes, not really on purpose, but my mouth works faster than my brain and it can come across as me being awful.” She begins to pick at the skin around her fingers. “I have ADHD, which, again, not an excuse, but I’m still figuring out how to..suppress it, I guess.” 

“Hey,” Jay looks up when Ellie speaks, her voice soft. “First, I wouldn’t say you were cruel. A bit harsh, yes, but not cruel. Second, apology accepted. Third, you don’t need to suppress yourself, especially when it comes to something you can’t control. Just find a different outlet for it.” 

“I dance with Callie sometimes, to help with all my energy.” 

“That’s great! You’ve already got one outlet, maybe you need another? The five of us are a group now, we’re friends. And not just because we’re all mermaids. It’s grown into something genuine. We’ll help each other.” 

Not being the type to enjoy being vulnerable, Jay immediately cracks a joke. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were flirting with me. While I am a lesbian, I’m afraid that I have a type, and you aren’t it.” 

Ellie puts a hand to her chest, gasping. “Now that was cruel!” She tosses a grape at her and Jay laughs as she dodges it. “What is your type, then?” 

Jay hums. “Blondes.” She pops the grape Ellie threw at her in her mouth. 

Ellie smirks at her. “Like Callie?” 

Jay almost chokes on said grape and immediately shakes her head, coughing. “God no! First of all, Callie is a dirty blonde, not blonde. Secondly, she’s like my sister!” 

Ellie laughs and carefully pats her on the back. “Don’t choke!” When she knows that Jay is safe from suffocating, she grins cheekily at her. “That was for calling me ridiculous in the moon pool.” 

Before Jay can quip back at her, Ellie’s phone goes off from a text. “The group?” 

Blushing, Ellie shakes her head. “Um, no. Just someone from my barn.” 

Noticing her blush, Jay quickly swipes her phone from her hand, ignoring Ellie’s protests. “Oooh, who’s Quentin and why is he turning you into a tomato?” 

“Oh, quit it!” She grabs her phone back. “He’s just a friend. And I’m not a tomato!” 

This time, both of their phones go off. “Amy says they’re going to mako and she’s asking if we want to come.” 

Jay scoffs. “As if the answer would ever be no.” She grabs a cookie for the road and they both begin the walk to the beach. 

“Well, look who decided to show up!” Lucy moves over as Jay and Ellie swim through the entrance. “Being late to a party, terrible etiquette!”

Ellie rolls her eyes and fails to hide her smile. “It’s not exactly fair to say that we’re late when we hadn’t been invited until it started!” 

“Exactly,” Jay chimes in. “We were afterthoughts Els, my heart is broken.” 

“Oh please,” Callie pokes her side. “Your ego is bruised.” 

That makes them all laugh and for a while they all simply relax in the pool, talking about anything and everything. Ellie inhales deeply, looking up at the center of the volcano. “I can’t believe it’s been a month since Lucy and I became mermaids.” 

Embarrassingly, it takes about fifteen seconds for what she just said to be fully grasped by Jay, Callie, and Amy. 

“Wait, what?” Amy looks terrified. “Oh my god, my phone didn’t alert me!” 

“Mine didn’t either! What the hell? I know I set an alert!” Callie looks at Ellie and Lucy who look completely lost. “We need to go. Now!” 

Amy nods. “We’ve barely got an hour.” 

“What’s happening?” Ellie asks, chest filling with nerves. 

“Well explain everything to you both the second we’re safe, but right now we need to get back! Go, hurry!” Jay makes them both swim through first before the other three and the five of them jet back to the beach. 

After Amy and Lucy dry them off, they collect their bags and begin walking. “Keep your heads down! Why is it early tonight?!” 

“Can this get any worse?” At Callie’s question, a clap of thunder comes from the sky.

Jay sends her a glare. “You just had to jinx it.” 

Amy looks around, heart pounding in her chest. “We won’t make it to Ellie’s in time. The moon is up and it’s going to rain.” Desperation seeps into her, and she looks around at their surroundings. 

And then, she remembers. 

The visit to mako. The recognizing of Callie’s locket. The way he talks about the island. 

She breathes in through her nose, out through her mouth. One. Twice. Three times. “I have an idea, but it’s mad. Do you trust me?” 

All four girls look at Amy, who, for the first time in her life, is taking charge, being brave. They all nod at her. 

“Okay. Follow me, as fast as you can!” And suddenly she’s running down the beach, almost falling into the sand, with the others following close behind her. 

She knocks on the door of the small beach house, fast and loud. “Mr Boone?! Jack!” 

The door opens and Jack looks at them all, sees the terror in their faces. “Amy? Girls? What’s going on?” 

She prays, hopes, wills it with everything in her that she’s right. “Help up. Please.” 

For a terrifying moment, she wonders if she’s wrong. Wonders if she’s just doomed them. Wonders if her first time not being invisible has gone terribly wrong. 

Jack looks at them. 

He looks at the sky. Looks at the moon. 

“Molly, love, close all the curtains!” He steps aside to let them come in. “And perhaps prepare some drinks! We’ve got company for the night.” 

She’s not smart like Ellie. She’s not free like Callie. She’s not fierce like Lucy. She’s not brave like Jay. 

Amy has always been invisible. She’s always noticed the things nobody else has. Usually, not being seen is a terrible, rotten thing. 

But tonight. 

Tonight it had saved her. 

Saved her friends. 

And she’s not sure there’s any better feeling than that. 

Chapter Text

It’s an interesting picture. Five girls, gathered around a small coffee table, in what is, essentially, a strangers house. The silence is deafening. The only real noises coming from the storm outside, the rain falling on the roof, the wind whistling and drinks being prepared in the kitchen that they can see from the living room. 

An older woman, Molly, as they have been asked to call her instead of Mrs. Boone, comes from the kitchen carrying a tray of mugs, steam rising from all of them. “I hope hot chocolate is alright! It’s rather cold tonight, I’m terribly sorry if you’d prefer tea or maybe coffee, we’re fresh out. Personally though, hot chocolate is my favorite drink for a night like this.” 

Ellie smiles at her, though because of the nerves and confusion, it doesn’t quite reach her eyes, and gratefully takes a mug. “Thank you, Molly. You’re very kind. We’re sorry for any inconvenience.” 

“Nonsense!” She sits on the couch next to her husband who smiles lovingly at her and kisses her temple. “Visitors are always a welcome treat. We don’t get many.” 

Callie pipes up from her spot next to Amy. “Still, we really appreciate it.” 

They sit in the quiet for a while, and despite it not being an entirely terrible silence, the air is thick with an unspoken question that nobody wants to ask. 

Eventually, though, Jay gets impatient. She takes in a deep breath, placing her now half empty cup onto the coffee table. She looks Jack directly in the eye. “So..you know?” 

Jack smiles softly at her. “Do you want me too?” 

Jay frowns. “I don’t think I get what you mean.” 

He nods, leaning forward a bit, elbows on his knees. “Could be I helped some girls who were stuck in the rain, out in the cold. Could be I didn’t understand why you were so afraid of the moon. Or,” His gaze lands on all five of them, one at a time. “Could be I helped because I know what happens if you look at it. Or what happens when water touches your skin. It’s up to you.” 

The five of them look to each other. The decision is made almost instantaneously. Ellie speaks on the behalf of the group. “We need answers. I think you can give us at least a few.” 

He smiles, but there’s a sadness in his eyes. “I’m not quite sure where to start.” Molly reaches out and gently rubs his hand and he turns his over so they can intertwine their fingers.

“The beginning is probably the best place.” Amy says. 

He gives a soft chuckle at that. “That’s very true. Although that’s still a bit complicated. To start at the beginning, I’d have to start with my brother.” 

“Max?” Amy asks. 

Jack nods at her. “Yes. Max Hamiliton. Max..” He trails off as if he doesn’t know how to properly word what he wants to say. “Max was my half brother. We had the same mother, but different fathers. We were ten years apart. I was around ten when he found out about the secret that the love of his life, Gracie, shared with her friends. He didn’t tell me at the time, of course. He actually never told me at all. I found out on my own.” 

Callie shuffles forward on her knees, curiosity written all over her face. “Did you see them as mermaids? Gracie? Or her friends?” 

Jacks gaze settles on her for a moment too long to be considered a simple glance. “No,” He looks down at her locket. “I never met them, actually. I didn’t find out about mermaids until I turned twenty two, and by then, Gracie had given up her powers, and Julia moved away. Louise, well, she stayed. For a long time. She passed away a little over eleven years ago, so I’ve heard. No, I found out about mermaids because of Constance, and,” He draws in a deep breath and his wife squeezes his hand. He squeezes back. “And Maeve.” 

“You called me Constance outside the cafe that day. Why?” Callie asks. 

“Because,” He gestures to her locket. “That locket you’ve got there? I made it. And up until now I believed it was at the bottom of the Irish moon pool where Constance hid it.” 

Lucy sits up straighter, her interest peaking. “You made the lockets?”

He shakes his head. “No. I made one for Constance and one for Maeve. Max made the other three.”

Ellie brings her knees up to her chest, looking both nervous and curious. “What happened to them?” She asks. 

They can all tell it pains him, talking about it. And yet, he tells them anyway. “Maeve and I got married young, at twenty two. Which made some people upset.” 

Jay furrows her eyebrows in confusion. “What? Why?” 

He looks a bit angry when he answers. “Because they didn’t like the color of her skin.” 

“Jesus..” Lucy mutters, but they can hear her. “That’s..really?”

Molly interjects then. “Back then, people like Maeve were treated as second class citizens. Worse than that, sometimes.” 

Jack smiles at her and continues the story. “We were married for a long while. We were happy. So incredibly happy.” He leans back against the couch, like the grief is physically heavy. “Until one day, I woke up, and she was gone. There were footprints in the sand, leading to the sea, and that’s where they stopped. Her disappearance hit Constance hard, and,” He takes in a deep breath and his eyes fill with tears. “One day, Constance left to go back to Ireland. She never came back. I found out a few months later that she had taken her own life.” 

They all look at him, shaken. “I’m so sorry Jack. God, I can’t even imagine.” Says Ellie. 

“So am I. She was a good person. For a long while I never thought I would love again. Not sure I even could. But then I met Molly, and I’m so very glad that I gave love a second chance.” Molly blushes at that and Jack kisses her cheek. 

“And you told her about mermaids? And she somehow didn’t think you were senile?” The exact second the words leave her mouth, Jay gasps and puts her hands over her mouth, the other four glaring at her. 

For a moment, silence. 

And then, laughter. Loud, body moving laughter. Jack slaps a hand on his knee and beams at Jay. “You remind me so much of her. She didn’t have much of a filter either.”

Jay smiles and ducks her head slightly.

“Did..you ever find out why Maeve left?” Amy questions. 

“No. All she left was this note,” He pulls a small strip of paper from his wallet. “And her locket.” There’s a second where his face goes blank, before it morphs into many different emotions. Looking as if he’s decided something, he stands and disappears into the bedroom, coming out a few minutes later, holding something in his hand. 

He sits back down and opens his hand to reveal a locket identical to the others, but with an amethyst gemstone. He puts it out towards Jay, who begins to protest. “No. None of that. She would have wanted you to have it. I know she would have. Take it, please.” Jay is hesitant, but ultimately she takes the locket and clasps it around her neck.” 

Callie gently unfolds the note. “I’m sorry. I love you. Please trust me.” She looks up at him. “That’s all she wrote?” She hands the paper back and he tucks it back into his wallet. 

“That’s all she wrote.” 

Lucy chews on her lip, looking unsure if she should ask the next question. “Do you know if there were any mermaids who came after?” 

“I do, actually. Max helped them a lot. I don’t remember their names, but one of them was Gracie’s granddaughter. I think her name was..Charlene? No, that’s not it. Oh! Charlotte. Her name was Charlotte Watsford.” 

When a loud gasp comes from Amy, they all turn to look at her. “Amy?” Ellie starts. “Are you okay?” 

Amy doesn’t know which one of them to look at, eyes darting around. She’s feeling too many emotions at once. 

“That’s-that’s my aunt's name.” 

Chapter Text

Amy sighs in frustration and all but throws her paint brush. Stepping back, she stares at the canvas and shakes her head. “What’s wrong, Fingerling?” The voice and the nickname calm her almost instantly. 

She turns to look at her aunt, and even as annoyed as she is, she can’t help the slight pull at her lips. She turns back to the canvas and crosses her arms. “I’m doing something wrong. I can’t get the skyline right and if I keep trying I’ll end up ruining it.” 

Charlotte walks over next to her, standing by her side. “There’s no such thing as ruining art, Amy,” She picks up one of the thinner brushes. “But if you’d like some advice?” When Amy nods, she continues. “Small strokes can do a lot more than larger ones, focus on the little details, instead of the bigger picture.” She dips the brush into the blue paint and they sit in a comfortable silence for a few minutes as Charlotte shows her what she meant. 

When it comes together, Amy beams at her. “You make it look effortless.” 

Charlotte laughs a bit at that, before it turns into coughing. Immediately she hands her aunt a glass of water that was still clean from any paint. In her haste, she spills it the tiniest bit and quickly wipes her hand on her shirt. She almost checks to make sure her aunt hadn’t noticed, but she’s not even looking at her. When the water doesn’t help with the coughing and only gets worse, to the point she’s doubling over, fear sinks into her chest. “Dad!” She wraps an arm around her aunt and lets her lean on her. “Mom! I can’t-“ 

Her aunt collapses to her knees, wheezing. Before she can say or do anything, her dad is running into the room, her mom hot on his heels. 

The only thing Amy can do is feel helpless. 

“I think it looks good, Aunt Char. Is it comfortable?” Amy carefully pulls back on the beanie to keep it from blocking her aunt's view. 

They had to shave her head yesterday. The chemotherapy had been causing it to fall out, and eventually Charlotte had had enough and took the scissors and clippers herself. “You made it, Fingerling, so of course it’s perfect.” She watches as Amy continues to fiddle with the pink crocheted beanie. “You have your mother’s eyes, you know.” 

Amy simply hums in response before deciding she’s satisfied, moving back to look at her handiwork and smiling. “What about dad? Do I get anything from him?”

Charlotte rolls her eyes playfully. “The only thing you get from my brother is your terrible taste in music,” Amy lets out a loud laugh at that. “His music taste, and your mother’s eyes,” She reaches out gently to touch Amy’s cheek. “But your smile is all hers.” 

Confused, she blinks at her. “Whose smile?” 

Instead of answering, she stands from the couch and reaches her hand out. “Let’s take a walk.” 

At that, Amy frowns at her aunt. “Your doctor said-“ 

Charlotte waves her hand in a dismissive way. “I don’t care. The sea air will do me good.” 

And so they walk the mile to the beach, sitting on a bench on the walkway. Tilting her head back and breathing in deeply, her aunt smiles. “I need you to make me a promise, Amy.” She isn’t looking at her, her eyes closed. She doesn’t wait for her to ask what it is before she continues. “Don’t ever let anything turn you into something angry. You have the kindest heart of anyone I’ve known. You remind me so much of her. I let hate and anger control my heart for such a long time,” She finally opens her eyes and looks at her niece. “Be angry, be sad, be afraid, but don’t ever let it consume you. Promise me that you’ll always embrace the good. Even when it feels impossible.” 

Amy swallows, tears in her eyes. “I promise.” 

She doesn’t hear the nurse as she talks. Doesn’t hear the beeping or any other sounds coming from the room. She looks at her parents and brother, and she knows. Everything around her might as well be white noise. The doctors had said to be prepared. But how can you ever prepare for something like this? 

You can’t. No one should ever have to prepare for something like this. And yet, here they were. 

Amy gently lays her head on her aunt's lap, reaching out to squeeze her hand, and she squeezes back. “I think it was meant to be karma, you looking like her. Having her hair, her smile. Having the same personality. I think it was meant to hurt me, but instead, it gave me the most precious thing. And how could it be karma, when you are the greatest piece of me? When I love you more than art or the moon itself?” 

Amy does not try to clarify who she’s talking about. It doesn’t matter. Not anymore. Not in this moment. “You were wrong, Aunt Charlotte.” 

She looks her in the eyes. “About what, Fingerling?” Her voice is weaker, raspier, quieter. But it’s still hers. 

Amy does not allow herself to cry. She gives her aunt the best smile she can muster. “I didn’t get my eyes from mom,” She squeezes her hand even tighter. “I got them from you.” It was the truth. It wasn’t just the color, the brown, it was how they viewed the world, how they made art out of it. 

And her aunt smiles back, her eyes closing. “I think you’re right.” She takes in a breath. “You are the greatest gift I could have ever been given.” 

When her aunt breathes out, and her hand that’s holding Amy’s loosens its grip, and she does not breathe in again, Amy finally allows her tears to flow. 

Even though her aunt is no longer gripping her hand, Amy keeps holding hers. She does not let go. Not until the paramedics and her father gently pull her away from her body. 

Even at her funeral, she held her hand, until she couldn’t. 

And sometimes, it feels like she still is. 

Almost like a phantom limb. 

Because her aunt was a part of her. 

On the good days, on the bad days, on the days where everything is too much, or even not enough. 

She will always be holding her hand. 

Chapter Text

“Constance, wait!” Laughter rings out through the street as Maeve tries in vain to keep up with her. “You’ll kill me at this rate!” 

Sighing dramatically, the blonde stops and waits for her to catch up. “At this rate, it will in fact be me who dies, of hunger! Do you want that on your conscience?”

Maeve rolls her eyes but smiles as Constance interlocks their arms. “I would never let you die of hunger, you ridiculous girl.” 

The blonde hums, leaning her head on the other girls shoulder as they walk. “I’m going to get the worlds largest turkey sandwich.” 

Maeve scrunches her nose up at that. “I don’t think that’ll be on the menu.” 

“Alright, then just a normal turkey sandwich.” She giggles as they step into the small diner but it immediately stops when an older man, most likely the owner, steps in front of them. “Excuse us.” 

The man frowns at them, but it’s mostly directed at Maeve. “You can stay, but your friend can’t.” He turns his voice to the other girl. “We don’t serve your kind. Can’t you read?” He points outside where a sign is posted on the glass that they had missed on the way in. Whites only.

Maeve unlinks her arm from Constance’s and takes a step back. “I’m sorry. We didn’t see it. Let’s go, Connie.” 

Constance is all anger, though. Nostrils flaring, she takes a step forward. “Really? We’re two paying customers you daft old man, she has every right-“ 

“This is my diner, and only I have a say in who’s allowed in it, paying or not! Now out! Before I call the authorities.” 

Constance sneers at him. “Fine. It smells awful in here, anyway.” Suddenly, she grins. “And your coffee seems to be..sticky.” Discreetly, she twists her hand and all of the drinks on the tables, coffees included, turn to jelly. “Have a terrible day.”

She grabs Maeve’s hand and slams the door shut on the way out, the little bell above the door shaking. Maeve is walking ahead of her now, shoulders shaking. “Ve, I’m so, so sorry. I’m so stupid, please don’t cry, it’ll- Maeve?” When she reaches her side, she sees no tears, only laughter. “Are you laughing?” When she begins to laugh harder, Constance hits her shoulder. “Stop! I thought you hated me! I thought you were crying!” It only causes the other girl to laugh louder. “What’s so funny?!” 

Maeve has to lean against a wall, hands on her stomach as she tries to breathe. She’s crying now, but only from laughing so hard. “You!” She takes in a wheezing breath. “‘Have a terrible day.’” She mocks in a terrible Irish accent. “Your accent really comes out when you’re angry. And those customers, I think you ruined every single person's meal.” 

Constance gapes at her and kicks her shin lightly. “He deserved every word of it! And anyone who eats in an establishment like that is as bad as he is.” 

Maeve snorts. “Establishment? That’s a big word for you.” 

“You-“ She throws her hands up and begins walking away. “Fine, then! I’m going for a swim and you’re not invited!” She giggles as she hears Maeve’s footsteps as she jogs to catch up to her. They link arms once again. “I really am sorry, Ve. I hate that they treat you like that. I hate that you let them.” 

Maeve sighs. “It’s not your fault. But Connie, if I said what was on my mind every time something like that happened, I would be in jail.” She bumps their shoulders together. “I love you, and I’m always grateful that you protect me, but I’m used to it.” 

“You shouldn’t have to be.” 

“I know. One day the world will be better, I have hope for that. But for now, at least we have each other. Now, how about that swim? Let’s go to mako.” 

Constance pretends to think about it. “Well, I don’t know, will you be there?” When Maeve smirks and nods, Constance shakes her head. “Then no. I don’t want to visit the moon pool with someone who makes fun of my accent.” 

Maeve, faking hurt, gasps and puts a hand on her chest. “I’ll go by myself, then! Forget you!” 

“Maeve!” It comes out as a whine and she laughs. “You can’t forget me. I’m practically your sister.” 

When she opens her mouth to reply, a voice interrupts her. “Excuse me!” They both turn around and prepare themselves when they see a young, white man running to catch up to them. Constance goes from relaxed to protective, and Maeve is all nerves, her body tense. “Sorry, sorry,” He pauses to catch his breath. “I saw what happened at the diner. Mr. Miller is a despicable bigot.” At that, Constance raises an eyebrow. “But, um, my family, well,” He stutters, clearly nervous. “Sorry.” He apologizes again. “My family has a smaller diner a bit farther from here, and I work as their delivery boy, with my bike.” 

Constance blinks at him. “..So where’s your bike?” 

He looks over his shoulder. “It fell back there, well, I tipped over when I saw what was happening.” 

“Are you alright?” Maeve questions. 

The boy stares at her for a second too long, blinking and shaking his head. “I’m okay. I stopped you because,” He reaches into a bag on his shoulder and pulls out two take out containers. “Here. Free of charge.” 

“Oh, we couldn’t. Let us pay you at least.” Maeve opens her purse but he shakes his head. 

“No, really. Free of charge. It’s on me.” 

Constance takes one and Maeve takes the other. “Thank you, that’s very kind of you..” She trails off, not knowing his name. 

“Jack. Jack Boone.” 

“This is Constance, I’m Maeve.” She reaches out and shakes his hand. 

When they lock eyes, both of them blush and seem reluctant to let go, but they do and he steps back. Constance is watching them intently, trying and failing to hide her grin. “I should get back to my parents. And make sure my bike isn’t damaged. It was..very nice to meet you both.” It’s mostly directed at Maeve but he flashes a smile at Constance too before jogging back to his bike. 

“Well, would you look at that,” Maeve immediately thinks Constance is going to make fun of her for blushing, but she’s looking into her opened container. “A turkey sandwich.” 

But of course she also winks at her best friend.

“Can I open my eyes now?” 

“Almost!” She feels as Jack gently walks her over a bit farther. “Step up, there’s some stairs.” She does so, and she feels his hands uncover her eyes. “Okay. Open them.” 

She does, and gasps, her hand coming up to her mouth in shock. “You,” She spins around in a small circle, tears in her eyes when she faces him again. “You built me a gazebo?” 

He smiles and takes her face gently between his hands. “I know you and Constance have been wanting somewhere to swim out in the open. And then I found this lagoon on one of my walks. I thought it would be perfect, but I also wanted to add something to it, for something I made to be here, when I’m not physically with you.” He kisses her gently. “Do you like it?” 

She giggles a watery giggle and nods her head. “I love it. I love you.” 

At that, he picks her up by her waist and spins her around. He beams up at her and then gently sets her back down. “I love you, too.” 

Constance smiles as she swims towards the small dock that Jack had added to the gazebo, it was connected directly to the lagoon, making it easier for them to dive in. “Well, Jack, to what do we owe the pleasure?” 

Jack smiles at his friend, sitting on the dock and taking off his shoes, tossing them behind him so he can dip his feet in the water. “Well, Connie, I do believe today is your twenty-first birthday.” 

Maeve swims up next to them smiling as she reaches out to tug at his foot. “It is!” 

Constance turns onto her back, letting the sun shine on her face. “Where’s my present?” 

Maeve rolls her eyes. “Greedy.” She laughs as the blonde splashes water at her. 

“It’s my birthday! I can be greedy!” She looks at Jack expectantly. “Well?” 

Jack shakes his head fondly and pulls out two boxes from his pockets. “Oooh, two presents?” 

Maeve swats at her. “Would you be quiet for once in your life?” 

“You can’t be mean to me on my birthday!” She pulls herself up on the dock, turning and sitting. Maeve follows, so each of them are on either side of Jack, their copper tails sparkling under the sun. “But really, what have you gotten me?” 

Jack hands one box to Constance, and one to Maeve. “Now, I know it’s your birthday, but it only felt right that I give them to you together.” 

Constance and Maeve lock eyes, both shrugging but still smiling as they open their respective boxes. “Oh, Jack!” Maeve pulls out a silver locket, an amethyst gemstone on it, and Constance pulls out another, almost identical, except for the emerald stone. 

He smiles at them both. “Connie, an emerald, for your beautiful Ireland.” Her eyes sparkle as she smiles at him. “And Maeve, an amethyst for you, because you love purple.” 

His girlfriend leans over and kisses his cheek, and he blushes. “They’re perfect. Did Max make them?” 

He shakes his head sadly. “No. He said he’d never make one again, but he showed me the design and gave me the tools, and with a little instruction, I made them.” 

Constance places hers back in its box before lowering herself back in the water. “Now you can make my cake!” 

They both laugh at her, which grows even louder when she grabs Jack by the ankle and yanks him in, Maeve not even trying to save him. 

It happens on the most random day. Jack and Maeve are swimming around mako, watching the fish and playing with the occasional dolphin that would come to curiously examine them before swimming away. A beam of light hits Maeve, and as Jack looks at her, something in his heart bursts. 

He signals that he needs to go up for air and she nods, following him as he surfaces. “Did you see the baby-“ 

“Marry me.” It’s the first thing he says when he breathes air into lungs, and it’s the most important. 

She stares at him, stunned. “What?” 

He swims closer to her and places one hand on her cheek, brushing her hair behind her ear. “You are the bravest, kindest, most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, Maeve Wright. Marry me.” 

She tries to laugh, but it comes out more as a huff of disbelief. “Are you mad?” 

He only grins brightly at her. “Madly in love, maybe. Mad about you.” 

She takes in a shaky breath. “You’re serious.” 

He nods and opens his mouth to reply, but she kisses him before he can. Carefully, minding her tail, she wraps her arms around his neck and gently plays with the hair on the back of his neck. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you, you incredible, crazy man.” 

“I knew I’d find you here.” Maeve swims in through the moon pool, looking at her best friend sitting on the sand, legs crossed but stretched out in front of her. 

The blonde sniffles and wipes the tears on her cheeks. “I’m sorry.” 

“It’s alright, I’m not upset with you.” She pulls herself out of the moon pool and reaches for the supply bag they keep in there at all times, pulling out a towel and beginning to dry herself. “I am worried, though. I asked you to be my maid of honor and you quite literally ran away.” 

Constance shrugs. “Swam away, really.” 

Maeve hums. “Don’t try to deflect. Talk to me, Connie.” 

Her face crumples a bit at the nickname. “I’m a terrible person. A terrible friend.” 

Finally dry, Maeve moves to sit next to her so their thighs touch. “That’s complete nonsense. You’re the best friend in the entire universe. Tell me what’s going on in that head of yours.” She taps the blondes temple and manages to get a minuscule smile from her. 

“I’m sad that you and Jack are going to get married.” Quickly, she adds in. “Very happy, of course, but sad.” 

Maeve tilts her head, eyes completely void of any judgment. “Why?” 

Constance tries in vain to stop the tears and they leave streaks down her cheeks. “Everyone that I’ve ever known has left me. Even my biological parents, they left me at that orphanage in Ireland when I was only weeks old, you know that. And you know that there’s something wrong in my brain. That I get sad or tired or numb for absolutely no reason. And no doctor takes me seriously, because they never take women seriously, they say it’s hormones, but there’s something wrong in my head, I know, you know it.” In response, Maeve gently grabs one of her hands, intertwining their fingers. “Every friend I’ve ever made has given up on me eventually, or moved away, or..or met a boy and completely forgotten my existence.” She moves her head to avoid Maeve’s gaze. “I don’t want you to leave me behind, too.” 

“That will never happen, Constance.” She squeezes her hand. 

At that, Constance scoffs. “You don’t know that.” 

“Oh, but I do, you silly girl.” She moves positions so her knees press against the blondes legs, prompting her to do the same. They sit cross legged, facing each other, knees touching. “You see, I know it. I know it just as I know that the sun will rise every day.” She wipes the tears off of Constance’s face. “Jack is my great love, that’s true. He’s my heart.” Constance looks down, sullen. “But,” She tilts her best friends face back up, and brown meets brown. “You, Constance Flinn, are my soulmate.” Her eyes widen. “You are. And it’s not just because we’re mermaids, it’s because a very long time ago, before we even existed, someone decided that we were meant to know each other. To be sisters in every way that counts. I could never leave you behind, not ever.” Constance lets out a sob and falls into Maeve’s waiting arms. “I love you, Connie. Where you go, I go.” 

Constance hugs her tighter. “Where you go, I go.” She echoes back before taking a deep breath. “I love you, too, Ve. And yes, I’ll be your maid of honor. Just please don’t make me wear yellow.” 

Maeve laughs into her best friends hair, her own tears falling. “I would never.” 

They decide to elope, in the end. After much convincing, Max officiates the wedding, and they get married in the gazebo, Constance by their sides, being both the maid of honor and the ring bearer. It was beautiful. It was perfect. 

And it stayed that way for years. 

Until it didn’t. 

Constance stares down at the letter in her hands. “Why would she do this?” It feels like she’s read the same three sentences over and over for hours. “Maybe she was kidnapped. Or blackmailed, or-“ 

“No!” Jack stops his pacing and looks at her, taking the letter. “She left. It was her choice. You saw the footprints, she left her locket. She was acting normal last night. She left!” 

Constance stands from the couch, shaking her head. “She wouldn’t just leave! We need to go to the police!” 

“And say what?! ‘Hi there, my mermaid wife ran away into the ocean, oh, and she’s a black woman, please help!’” He scoffs and throws the letter down. “They don’t care about her, about people like her. And even if they did, you and I both know they’d never find anything!” 

Constance looks around desperately. “I’m going to search mako and the surrounding water.” 

Jack shakes his head and crosses his arms. “I already have.”

She glares at him. “I can search much farther than you can.” And she turns and storms out of the small house, following Maeve’s footsteps and diving into the sea. 

And she does. She searches for four days before she physically cannot search anymore. She’s back at their house, and she feels angrier than ever. “How can you just accept that she’s left, Jack?! I can’t! She’s my best friend!” 

He rounds on her, pointing his finger. “She’s my wife! I’m not accepting it, Connie, but-“ 

“Don’t!” She snaps. “Do not call me that, don’t ever call me that again. She gave me that nickname. She’s gone, you don’t get to use it anymore!” She backs away from him, hands shaking. “Maybe it would have been better if she had never met-“ 

“Me?!” He demands, stepping closer. “If she never met me?! Say it, go ahead!” 

“Me!” She shouts back, her voice cracking. “It would have been better if she’d never met me!” Jack gapes at her and she begins to sob. “Everyone I love leaves, and I loved her. I loved her so much. And she’s gone. Your wife is gone because of me.” When her knees give out, Jack is there to catch her. 

She tries to fight him, tries to push him off her, but he only holds her tighter. Eventually, the fight leaves her and she allows herself to be held as she breaks. “I’m sorry, Jack. I’m so sorry.” 

He rocks her back and forth. “Shh, none of that. It wasn’t your fault. We both loved her. We both loved her so much. I’m going to love her for the rest of my life. But you’re my friend, Connie. And I love you, too.” She lets out a wail and he kisses the top of her forehead. “It’s nobody’s fault.” He’s not just saying it to her, but to himself too. “It’s nobody’s fault.” He says it like a prayer. 

Three days later, he’s face to face with her while she holds a suitcase in her hands. “How long?” 

She shrugs. “As long as it takes. Being..here without her doesn’t feel right. I need to go home.” 

He nods in understanding. “You write to me, you understand? You write to me every damn day.” His lip quivers and he pulls her into a hug. “You’re one of my greatest friends, Connie.” 

She smiles sadly at him when they separate. “You’re mine, too, Jack. I’ll miss you.” 

She walks out of the door and gently closes it behind her. It doesn’t hit him that she never promised to write, not until it’s far, far too late. 

Constance stares up at the full moon. It’s been a very long time since its effects had any control over her, but she still feels its pull. Carefully, making sure she doesn’t get wet, she drops her locket into a small open pocket in the moon pool, where nobody would see it unless they were looking for it specifically. She stands and takes one last look at Irish moon pool, her moon pool, before she turns and walks away. 

She climbs to the highest point of the cliffs, where the moon looks like it’s touching the ocean. She looks down at the rocky cliffs below, the waves hitting them gently. With shaking hands, she takes a photograph of her and Maeve from her pocket, smiling softly at it. “Where you go, I go.” She whispers. 

And then she closes her eyes, and for just a moment, she’s flying. 

When the sun rises, all five of them are surprised that they had actually managed to fall asleep. They had all slept on the floor, and no matter how comfortable Molly had tried to make them, doing that would always leave you sore in a few places. 

“We should get back before our parents send out a search party.” Lucy stretches and cracks her back, wincing slightly. 

“It’s okay, we have time.” Says Amy, clicking on her phone. “We all told our parents we’d be back from Ellie’s around nine. It’s seven right now.” 

They all turn to look at Jack and Molly, and Callie speaks up. “We really can’t thank you enough.” 

Jay nods in agreement. “You saved us. Thank you.” 

Amy steps forward and bites her lip nervously. “Do you think..maybe..” She looks around their house, her voice trailing off. 

Jack smiles at her, knowing exactly what she’s going to ask. “You’re welcome here anytime. All of you. Whether it’s to escape the full moon or just come by for a chat, our door is always open.” 

Molly nods happily in agreement. “Always! And next time I’ll have tea.” 

Jay smiles and reaches up to fiddle with the locket around her neck. “We’ll remember that.” 

They all thank them again, and begin to walk out the door. “By the way,” Lucy speaks up as they’re halfway through. “The three of you all owe us an explanation on what exactly the deal is with the full moon.” 

“Seriously.” Ellie says. “I thought you were going to have panic attacks. And that’s my thing!” 

They all laugh and Jack and Molly smile as they watch their figures get smaller as they get further away. 

Jay and Callie are behind the others, and when the two link arms, Jack is suddenly looking at Maeve and Constance instead. He blinks and they change back, but his smile never leaves his face. “Are you alright, love?” Molly asks. 

He wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her closer. “I’m a little sad. It’ll be alright, though.” 

Molly kisses his cheek. “Being sad is okay. How about I make us breakfast?” 

“That sounds perfect. Thank you.” 

He takes one last look at the girls, already looking forward to their next visit, smiles a watery smile, and closes the door. 

Chapter Text

Lucy breathes in, eyes focusing. “Okay,” She exhales, checking that her inhaler is completely safe in the pocket of her shorts. She pops her AirPods in her ears, grinning. “Let’s do this.” And then she’s running. Her pace matches the fast bass and drumming from the song she’s listening to and everything else disappears. She feels invincible like this. When she’s running, it’s like nothing can touch her. The world blurs around her and the only things that exist are her, the music, and the track. 

It’s most likely also the same reason she enjoys speed swimming so much. She’s already the fastest out of the five of them, much to Jay's annoyance. She gets to be fast in both forms, and there’s nothing quite like the wind in her hair when she’s running on land, or the feel of the water running across her body when she’s in the sea. 

Slowing down but not stopping, she takes a puff from her inhaler before speeding up again. She’s probably not going to break any of her records today, but that’s fine. She just wants to run. 

Halfway through her second mile, she briefly registers someone else on the track with her in the corner of her eye. She simply ignores them, focusing on herself, until she feels herself stumble. For a split second, she has no idea what’s happened, but quickly comes to realize that she’s been bumped into by someone’s shoulder. She comes to a stop and the person, clearly a man, though she can’t see his face, doesn’t slow down or look back, he doesn’t even yell out an apology. 

“Hey!” She yells, pausing her music and turning off the noise cancellation. “Share the space, asshole!” He ignores her and she glares at the back of his head. “Whatever,” She mutters grumpily. “I’m done anyway.” 

She walks over to where she left her bag and grabs her water bottle, taking a generous sip. She tries to shake off her anger as she walks out of the gate, but it doesn’t quite work. Really, it’s only common decency, if he had wanted to pass her, to slow down instead of practically bulldozing her. It also confuses her that he was so close to her when they were the only people running on the track. He had plenty of his own space, he hadn’t needed to invade hers. Rolling her eyes, she shoves the interaction to the back of her mind and begins the walk home. 

Ellie can’t help but let out a laugh as Caspian nails several jumps without a single mistake. It’s euphoric and she can’t help but feel like she’s flying. “Good boy!” She laughs again, rubbing her hand along his sweaty neck as she slows him to a trot. “How about a well deserved cool down now, hmm?” He snorts and tosses his head, making her grin. 

“It’s like he understands you!” Quentin yells from where he’s been watching them exercise. She beams at him and leans down to pat the gelding. Slowing him to a walk, she watches as Quentin walks into the riding arena, making sure to latch the gate behind him. “That was awesome, you guys were so in sync. I don’t think I’d ever get bored of watching you.” When he says it, they both immediately blush, Ellie ducks her head slightly and tries to hide her smile. “I-I mean, both of you. You make an incredible team.” 

She brings Caspian to a stop and thinks for a moment before nodding to herself. “So, this is going to make me sound like a lazy horse owner and an extremely lazy rider, but do you want to do his cool down?” 

His eyes light up and he nods. “Yeah. Definitely. If that’s cool with you.” 

She can’t help but grin as she dismounts, taking off her helmet, not even bothering to fix her hair. “I wouldn’t have asked if it wasn’t.” 

She passes him her helmet and he puts it on, adjusting the straps before clicking the ends together under his chin. “Right. Duh.” She gives him a leg up and he begins to walk Caspian around the arena. 

They don’t talk for the fifteen minutes that he takes to cool him down, not really needing to. The silence isn’t awkward, if anything, it’s almost peaceful. After he dismounts, he hands her back her helmet and she pulls Caspian's reins over his head, gently leading him towards the wash stalls. Quentin opens the gate for her and she smiles at him in thanks. They make idle chatter as she untacks him and she really has no choice but to ask him to give him a small wash down, making sure to stay away from the soft spray of the hose. 

“Oh, god.” She groans and he lifts his head to look at her. She points over his shoulder. “Incoming.” He sighs almost dramatically when he turns and sees Summer. “She was not supposed to be here today.” 

Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard. “How cute. The charity case and the slacker.” 

Completely unbothered, Quentin makes a face that Summer can’t see and mouths to Ellie ‘Which one am I?’ Grinning when it causes her to giggle like that was his goal. Summer begins to speak again, and he makes a show of turning off his cochlear implant and she has to cover her mouth to contain her laugh, but her shoulders shake with it. ‘Jealous?’ He mouths at her again and honestly she can’t help but nod. What she wouldn’t pay to not be able to hear Summer. 

Summer moves towards Starling’s stall. “Are the two of you done? I’d like to be able to bathe my horse sometime this century. How long has he been at this? Is he blind as well as deaf?” 

Ellie frowns at her, and, feeling emboldened by Quentin’s snark and sarcasm, can’t help but throw in her own quip. “You’re going to wash Starling, really? All by yourself? I wasn’t aware that was something you knew how to do.” Judging by the sudden bark of laughter, Quentin had read her lips. She can’t help but smirk at him. 

That, unfortunately, turns out to be a mistake. 

Glaring at her, Summer storms over and grabs the hose from Quentin’s hand. Ellie’s eyes widen and she takes a step back. “Wait, don’t-“ She gasps as the other girl directs the spray of water on her, all but soaking her. 

Quentin whips around and grabs it back, quickly turning it off. “What the actual hell is wrong with you?!” He drops the hose and begins signing at her. Summer simply stares blankly at him, clearly not caring at all. 

Ellie seizes the distraction and bolts. She’s just barely able to lock the tack room from the inside before she’s toppling over onto her stomach, wincing as one of her elbows hits the concrete floor. She flips herself over and searches for anything that will help get her drier faster. “Shit!” She hisses. She startles when the handle to the room jiggles. “Shit, shit, shit. I’m fine!” She yells out the last bit to who she assumes is Quentin on the other side of the door. 

“Ellie-“ 

“Quentin, seriously, I’m good! You can go home!” She sighs in defeat and lays the rest of her body down, flopping her tail in frustration. “I’ll text you later, okay?” 

He doesn’t respond and she closes her eyes, doing the breathing exercises that Amy had taught her. They thankfully work, stopping a full blown panic attack, but the anxiety still scratches at her. 

It takes a little over half an hour for her to transform back. Sighing, she stands and unlocks the door, opening it and heading to pack up her things. She stops in her tracks when she sees Quentin sitting on one of the benches, his legs on either side of it as he looks at something on his phone. She opens her mouth but can’t make herself form any words. 

Eventually, he notices her and stands up, pocketing his phone. “Hey!” 

She blinks at him. “You’re..still here.” 

He gives her a small smile. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.” 

“I told you I was. You didn’t need to stay.”

He shrugs his shoulders. “Respectfully disagree.” He hands her her bag and her phone. “I put Caspian in his stall and packed your stuff, I hope you don’t mind. Also,” He points to her phone. “Someone named Lucy is contemplating murder. She seems fun. I promise I wasn’t snooping, your notifications just kept going off and I saw it pop up.” 

She opens the group chat and reacts to Lucy’s message with a question mark. “Funny group chat name, by the way, Fish are Friends, Not Food. There a story behind that?” 

She’s not prepared for the eye contact when she looks up from her phone and she hopes that she’s not blushing, especially when she feels her heart beat a bit faster. He’s at least a foot taller than her so he has to lean a bit to meet her eyes. “Oh, um,” She brushes a stray hair from her face and shifts on her feet. “It's an inside joke.” Her brain is still catching up with what's happening so she can’t come up with a better excuse. “Thank you, by the way, you really didn’t have to do all that.” 

He nods in understanding about the inside joke statement and puts his hands in his pockets. “I’m sorry Summer hosed you down.” 

Ellie waves her hand in a dismissive gesture. “It’s fine. I probably shouldn’t have provoked her.” 

He frowns a bit at that. “Um, no?” It comes out as a question and he looks genuinely puzzled. “More like she shouldn’t have responded like she was throwing a tantrum because you pointed out something obvious,” “Funny, hilarious, actually,” He quickly adds in. “But still obvious.” He tilts his head. “Are you honestly alright?” 

She nods, smiling genuinely at him. “I’m good, I promise.” Remembering something from earlier, she raises her eyebrows at him. “What did you sign at her?” 

He lets out a quiet laugh and looks rather proud of himself. “I don’t think I can say it out loud. It definitely was not..kind.” He juts his chin out towards the exit. “C’mon, I’ll walk you home.” She opens her mouth to tell him he doesn’t have to, and he must read her mind because before she can say it, he adds in, “And before you say I don’t have to, I know, I want to.” 

She doesn’t attempt to argue and together they begin to leave the stables, starting up an easy conversation. 

Jay watches as Callie performs intricate dance moves that she won’t even bother trying to pronounce. She winces every single time Callie goes en pointe which maybe is a bit much, but Jay can’t imagine why ballet dancers would ever do that on purpose and find it fun. 

When Callie catches her doing it for what feels like the hundredth time, she lets out a laugh. “Why don’t you join me? Dance some energy out.” 

Jay shakes her head. “Nah, I’m good, don’t really feel like breaking my toes.” 

Her best friend rolls her eyes fondly. “I would never in a million years allow you to put on my pointe shoes and do actual moves. That’s dangerous on like, at least ten levels.” 

They both know this, of course. 

But, well, Jay is nothing if not a bit of a shithead. “Allow me? You won’t allow me? Okay, bunhead. Like you can boss me around in any reality.” 

Callie purses her lips to hide her grin. “What do you have against my bun?” 

And, well, that shakes a laugh out of Jay because out of everything she expected Callie to retort with, it wasn’t that. “So many things, so, so many. Don’t ask me to list them, though.” Stopping the teasing, she lays down flat on her back. “For real though, if you were doing hip hop then I’d probably join because I can just like, go totally feral. I can’t really shake out any sort of energy to ballet music.” 

Callie grabs her phone and turns said music off. “You can absolutely go feral to Stravinsky and anyone who tells you otherwise is a dirty liar.” She copies Jay, laying down on her back next to her. 

“Can I ask you something?” Jay asks. 

There’s a joke there that Callie almost takes, you just did. But she thinks better of it when she notices her voice is a bit serious. 

So, instead, she says, “Always.” 

“Do you think I’d make a good girlfriend?” 

It takes her a few minutes to respond, not because she’s shocked by the question, but because she’s actually thinking about the answer instead of just going, duh, obviously, like someone else might do just because they’re best friends. Eventually she lets out a hum and nods before remembering that they’re both staring at the ceiling so Jay can’t see. “Yeah, I think so.”

“You’re biased.” 

She sputters at that, turning her head. “Then why did you ask me?” She asks, almost incredulously. 

“I don’t know!” Jay groans, bringing her hand up to chew at her nails. 

Callie swats at her hand. “Don’t do that. I’m going to get you some of that awful tasting nail polish so you stop.” It’s the only thing about Jay’s ADHD that actually annoys her. Not because the act itself is annoying, but she sometimes does it to the point of bleeding and Callie hates that it’s something that hurts her. 

“Don’t swat me!” Jays says, right before swatting Callie. 

“Ow!” There’s a giggle in her voice. “Jesus, you almost hit my boob!” 

“Oh, so you’re saying I missed?” Before Jay can get another chance, Callie smacks her lightly on the arm. 

Jay gasps dramatically at this, and looks at Callie, horrified. “You can’t hit me back during pride month! Especially during the first week! I don’t care that this is your birth month! That’s homophobic!” 

Callie rolls her eyes and stands up, pulling the redhead with her. “Nice try. Just like when you came out to me last year and tried to convince me that I had to give you money during pride month because you’re a lesbian and if I didn’t then I was also homophobic.” 

Jay grins and shrugs her shoulders. “I mean, you almost fell for it.” 

“I didn’t!” 

She definitely had. 

Sighing with nothing but fondness, Callie raises an eyebrow. “Speaking of coming out, you gonna tell your dad soon?” 

Jay winces. “I want to. But..I don’t know, when I do it, I want it to be on one of his better days. I want him to remember it. When he’s really, really sick, it’s hard for him to remember stuff.” 

Callie hums and nods. She bumps her shoulder against Jays. “Proud of you, by the way. Always.” 

Jay groans but she lets the other girl pull her into a one armed hug. “It’s worse because of how much you mean it. Gross.”

Callie laughs at that, throwing her head back. “You’re loved, deal with it.” 

Jay begins walking away from her and Callie laughs even more. “Get unwaveringly supported, bitch. That’s a threat, by the way.” She links their arms together when she catches up. “Oh! Do you want to go for a swim?” 

“Normally, absolutely, but I’ve got dinner with Wes. Do you want to come say hi? Maybe see my dad, too?” 

“Duh. Like I’d ever say no to saying hi to the more interesting Elkins.” 

Jay simply sighs and shakes her head before they exit the building and begin the walk to her house. “That’s homophobia, too, by the way.” 

Callie kicks her shin for that. 

“And that!” 

Amy hums to herself as she walks past the different booths, smiling when something catches her interests. The little pop up had apparently been a last minute thing, as she had seen on instagram, but the turn out had still been large. 

It’s warm, and she regrets wearing the cardigan, but she can’t bring herself to take it off and tie it around her waist. It had been her aunts, the peachy pink color being Charlotte's favorite, and sometimes she swears it still smells like her. 

She takes a moment to stop and look at some paintings, debating on whether or not to buy one that catches her eye. While she thinks, she can’t help but let her mind wander. Should she do something like this? Would she enjoy it? Would she be welcome? Would anyone actually be interested in- She quickly shakes her head, not allowing herself to steer into self deprecating territory. 

Maybe one day she’d do this, sell her art, or allow it to be viewed publicly, but not yet. For now, it’s something she wants to keep close to her chest. Something just for her. And the most important people around. Like her family, and friends. Speaking of. 

She takes her phone out of her pocket, opening the group chat. She hasn’t checked it in little over an hour and there’s been about twenty messages sent in that time span. She’s been taking pictures for them and sends some of them before scrolling up and reading the texts she’s missed. 

Of course, she’ll blame herself for what happens next. Her face shouldn’t have been in her phone, she shouldn’t have been distracted in such a busy place. Really, she wasn’t in anybody’s way. She had subconsciously moved herself away from the flow of people when she unlocked her phone. 

And yet. 

She gasps when a body shoves past her. The person, the man, she quickly realizes, is walking quickly and she winces when she stumbles into somebody else, sending the objects in their hands to the ground. 

“I’m so sorry!” She’s immediately on her knees next to the woman, helping her collect various art pieces. When she glances up, whoever had bumped into her is gone. 

The woman is clearly annoyed but shakes her head. “It’s fine. I saw you get bumped. Not your fault.” 

She disagrees, but she’s grateful. Standing up, she passes her things to her. “Maybe, but still, I’m so sorry, ma’am.” 

The woman gapes at her. “Oh my god, what?” 

Amy blinks, confused. “I-um-“ 

“Ma’am?!” The woman takes a deep breath. “I look old enough to be a ma’am, oh, this is a real low. Is this what rock bottom feels like?” 

Amy doesn’t get a chance to answer. Not that she really had any idea what to say. 

“Kim!” She turns her head toward the noise. “Your dad’s found something for the house, come and see! Your sister has already voted yes!” 

The woman, or, Kim, apparently, rolls her eyes and mutters under her breath. “Neither of us even live there anymore, don’t know why we get a vote.” But she’s smiling when she says it. And then, louder, a response, “Coming, Sam!” She looks at Amy. “Are you alright? No bruises or anything?”

Amy shakes her head. “No, I’m okay. Thanks for asking.” 

Kim nods and then walks off. Amy quickly opens the group chat and sends a text. “Weird, someone bumped into me too, Lucy. People are jerks today.” And then, a few seconds later, she sends. “Also, how old is old enough to be considered a ma’am?” 

Callie wishes she could have her phone underwater. Maybe she’ll buy a waterproof camera one day, so she can really capture the beauty of this entire other world that exists here. 

For now though, she simply takes it in. She swims slowly towards the moon pool, smiling at a clownfish she sees. In her peripheral, she sees a flash of blue and grins when she realizes it’s a tail. 

Amy will forgive her if she gives her a little scare, right? 

Except, that’s not Amy. That is definitely not Amy. Her eyes widen as she stares at the back of what is clearly a boy. 

A boy with a tail. 

Panic seizes her for just a moment and she freezes before shaking herself out of it. She quickly turns and jets off back towards the beach, praying she hadn’t been noticed. Once she’s dry, her brain begins to function mostly on autopilot, and she begins to run to whoever’s house is closest. 

Ellie smiles as Quentin rattles off what must be the eleventh random fact at her. He’s so engrossed in what he’s saying that he’s begun signing as well, and Ellie can barely keep up with his hands. 

He must notice because he stops, blushing slightly. “Sorry. I can get a bit carried away. My brain is kind of like an encyclopedia for random facts.” 

Ellie quickly shakes her head. “No! I don’t mind. I really liked the one about jellyfish.” She looks at him nervously before asking. “Can you show me? Some sign language, I mean.” 

He pauses before beaming at her. “Yeah! Yeah, of course. Here, I’ll show you jellyfish. It’s really easy.” He does the motion and she copies him, getting it right the first try because he was being honest, it was easy. “This is horse.” That one takes her a few times to get, and he helps her position her fingers. 

To her credit, she doesn’t blush at the contact, probably because when she’s learning something she really zeroes in on that subject. “And this,” He makes a series of movements. “Is how you spell Ellie.” 

She smiles. “There’s no specific sign?” 

“Well, in sign language, there usually aren’t signs for specific names. If you’re really close to someone who’s deaf, they’ll give you a name in sign language. Like,” He makes a gesture. “This is the sign for music, but when I’m talking to the people who I’m close with, y’know, like my parents, that’s my sign name. You shouldn’t ask for a sign name if you know someone who’s deaf. If you’re close enough to someone they’ll give you one.” 

“Like a rite of passage?” She asks. 

He laughs a bit. “Yeah, kind of! I guess you could call it that.” 

When they get closer to her house, and go past it, he frowns at her. “Do your parents not like company?” 

“Oh,” She bites her lip. “No, it’s just, I don’t live in the house. I have my own loft. It used to be Caspian’s barn.” They walk the property a bit and he whistles when he sees it. 

“Wow,” She winces, prepared for whatever money comment he’s about to make. “That must get lonely.” 

Well then. 

He looks at her, completely unaware of the invisible rug he’s just pulled from underneath her. She swallows and the tears that suddenly burn in her ears take her even further off guard. She blinks them away. “Yeah. It does, sometimes.” 

He gives her a small, understanding smile. They walk closer and his smile grows bigger when he sees Callie sitting on the steps in front of the loft. “Hi there!”

“Um, hi?” 

Later, she’ll feel awful for being rude. Especially when she’s completely come back to herself and realizes that Ellie probably likes whoever this is as more than a friend, and that he definitely likes her back. That’s a problem for future Callie, though, and current Callie has a much, much bigger problem right now. 

Ellie frowns at her, worry stirring in her head. She looks pale. “Hey, Callie. This is Quentin. Quentin, this is my friend, Callie.” 

His smile turns into an easy grin. “Hey, nice to meet you. Are you also a friend to fish?”

Callie stares blankly at him and then blinks at Ellie. “Am I- what?” 

When the joke doesn’t land, he grimaces and hits his fists together sheepishly. “I uh, saw your group chat name. If you’re..even in it.” He mumbles under his breath. “Fantastic first impression, Quentin, act like a person next time.” 

Ellie hears it though and she shakes her head. “No, you’re fine, I promise. She is..not usually like this. And she’s in the group chat. Tell the joke next time and she’ll love it.” 

He smiles shyly and nods. “Next time. Sure. Well, I’m going to go, but I’ll text you! And maybe we can do something outside of riding. When you’re not busy getting soaked by Summer.” 

Future Callie is definitely going to have a problem with that, too. 

She blushes but quickly nods. “Absolutely. Text me whenever.” 

“I feel like I already text you a lot. But now that I’ve been given permission I’m just going to bother you like, all the time. I’m gonna wake you up at four in the morning with more facts.” 

She could joke back, but instead, she just smiles. “I’m looking forward to it.” 

This time she got to pull the rug, and he blushes. “Good. I’ll see you later. Nice meeting you, Callie.” 

He walks away, and she immediately focuses on her friend. “Callie? Are you good?” 

She’s talking in a tone that one might use when talking to a toddler holding a fork very close to a socket. Normally, it would be insulting, but right now Callie doesn’t blame her. “Can I come in?” 

“Of course.” Ellie unlocks the loft and they both walk in, putting their bags down on the coffee table. “Sit. I’ll get you a drink. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” 

Callie isn’t sure how to start this conversation, doesn’t know how to say it in the right way. But she’s pretty sure what she says next isn’t it. “Not a ghost. Well, maybe, actually. I didn’t get close enough. He was definitely a merman, though.” 

Ellie freezes in place before she even reaches her refrigerator and turns slowly so she’s facing Callie again. 

“…Run that by me one more time?” 

Chapter Text

“I can’t believe I’m the one saying this, but please stop panicking and breathe.” Ellie very gently grabs Callie’s shoulders and maneuvers her into a chair. “It’s okay,” When she’s sure Callie won’t get up and begin pacing a hole into her floor, she resumes her aborted walk to the refrigerator. She grabs a yellow Gatorade, one that comes in a squeeze bottle so there’s no chance of spillage, and walks back, setting it in front of her. 

Callie immediately untwists the top and takes a sip. “Wait. This is my favorite flavor.” 

Ellie, confused, because this is very much not the topic that they should be on, raises her eyebrows. “..Yes, and?” 

The dirty blonde stares at the bottle. “You hate the lemon lime flavor.” At another realization, she sputters ever so slightly. “Wait, you don’t even drink Gatorade! Why do you have Gatorade?” 

Ellie rolls her eyes. “Because you and Lucy like it. Well, Lucy likes the blue ones. Same reason I have Kirk’s creaming soda for Jay and Pasito for Amy. I also have everyone’s preferred snacks stocked up. But we’re not here to talk about food and drink preferences, you’re here to tell me about the literal merman you saw, remember?” 

Callie blinks at her and her face softens and she smiles fondly at her. “Ellie! You take care of us.” 

Ellie rubs her temples in annoyance. “Yes, yeah, duh, I’m the mom friend, we all know this, can we please get back on topic? Merman? At the moon pool?” 

Callie takes in a deep breath and holds it before breathing out a little too fast. “Sorry, I’m sorry. I’m still sort of reeling from it.” 

“It’s okay, I get it. Take your time.” 

Callie takes another sip of the Gatorade and promptly shakes her head, putting it down on the table. “I think I need a coffee, I also feel like this is definitely a group conversation. Roots?” 

Ellie hums, thinking, before ultimately nodding and pulling out her phone. She pulls up the group text and types up a quick text. “Don’t panic, small emergency, meet at roots ASAP.” She shows it to Callie and when she nods in approval, she presses send. Within ten minutes, the other three have agreed and they begin their walk. 

Ellie locks the door to her loft and Callie grabs her bag, then immediately drops it with a gasp. Ellie whips around to look at her. “What?! What’s wrong?” 

Callie gives her a face akin to a kicked puppy. “I was so rude to the boy you were with early! He was so nice and I was so mean!” 

Ellie lets out a laugh of relief. “Jeez, do not scare me like that, please. It’s okay, Cal, I told him not to take it personally, and that your normal personality is the exact opposite of the Callie he met. You can apologize to him though if you want, next time you see him.” Ellie hands her her bag and starts to walk. 

“…Next time?” 

Ellie hears the grin before she sees it. She groans. “Do not start.”

Callie lets out a delighted giggle. “Next time! There’s going to be a next time!” She smirks and brushes their shoulders together. “He was pretty cute. Believe it or not, I was aware of what he was saying even though I wasn’t fully present at the moment. He’s funny.” 

Ellie blushes and shrugs. “He makes me laugh. He’s great with Caspian, too. And super sweet. He waited over half an hour after Summer soaked me just so he could walk me home.” She brushes a strand of hair behind her ear. “And when we got to the loft..I was so prepared for the money comment, y’know?” When Callie hums in acknowledgment she continues. “But it didn’t come. He said it must be lonely. Nobody has ever…it..caught me off guard in a good way. He got me, like immediately. And he’s so smart, too! Not like, in a book way, but like, he knows all these random facts and he texts me whenever he has a new one to share, now.” When she notices Callie is no longer walking by her side, she stops and turns. The dirty blonde is looking at her, head tilted and soft smile on her face. “..What?” 

“You like him.” 

“No! I don’t. We’re..friends. Good friends.” 

Callie shakes her head. “Good friends don’t write essays about how wonderful the other friend is, Els.” 

Ellie gives her a blank look. 

“..Okay, no, I see your point. The five of us could definitely write essays about each other. Let me rephrase, good friends don’t write essays about how wonderful the other friend is while also blushing profusely and smiling dreamily.” 

Instead of denying it like Callie expects her to, Ellie’s shoulder slump, like she’s given up the argument. “I..okay, there’s something there, maybe. But it doesn’t matter.” 

Callie frowns at her. “Why?” 

“You know why.” 

They walk into Roots and take a seat at a booth. “Say it anyway.” Ellie slides closest to the wall and Callie sits across from her. 

Ellie sighs, and lowers her voice. “Because I’m a mermaid. That’s why.” 

“I’m calling bullshit, on that, actually. I think you’re afraid because you like him, a lot, and he likes you, a lot, and that’s scary. And listen, I love you,” She reaches across the table and squeezes her hand. “But you tend to run away from scary things instead of facing them, when if you do the opposite it can turn into something really incredible. And sure, obviously the mermaid thing is a giant part of our lives and our biggest secret, but please don’t use that as an excuse to not go after something that could make you happy.” 

Ellie blinks at her. “..Jesus, okay then. Since when are you a therapist?” The door opens again and they both look when they hear the bell above the door ring. Lucy, Amy, and Jay spot them immediately and begin making their way over. “I’ll think about it, alright? I promise.” 

Callie nods, squeezes her hand once more, and lets go. “You better.” 

Ellie slides out of the booth and Lucy takes her place, sitting closest to the wall, and Amy slides in next to her, while Jay slides in next to Callie. “What’s the emergency?” Amy asks, looking at them both. “Are you okay?” 

“Drinks, first.” Says Ellie. She walks over to the counter to order for them all. It’s an unspoken rule amongst the five of them that Ellie always pays for everybody when she’s around. 

The first few times it happened, everyone had protested, but when it became apparent that she does it not only because she likes to take care of people, but also because doing it helps to alleviate her shame of coming from wealth, they stopped and simply let her. 

“Okay,” Lucy leans forward. “I can’t wait for drinks. What the hell is going on?” 

Callie leans her head back against the booth and groans. “I have literally no idea how to not say this bluntly.” 

Jay side eyes her. “So say it bluntly.” 

“Okay. Earlier, after you left to go have dinner with Wes and your dad, I went for a swim. I made it to the moon pool, almost, when I saw this flash of blue, and immediately I thought, oh! Look! It’s Amy.” 

Amy shakes her head. “I’ve been at that artist pop up basically all day, I haven’t been to Mako.” 

Callie lets out a humorless laugh. “Oh, trust me, I’m keenly aware.” They all give her various confused looks. “I thought it was Amy, so I swam closer and- oh my god.” Her entire body has gone rigid. “Oh my god.” She repeats. 

She’s staring at something and Jay follows her line of sight, while Lucy and Amy twist around to find what she’s looking at. “What?” Asks Jay. 

“That’s him! Holy shit, that’s him!” 

Before they can get any sort of clarification, Ellie is walking back to the booth with their drinks in a cup holder. She sets it down, and begins passing them out. “Strawberry and banana smoothie for Amy, kiwi and mango smoothie for Jay, caramel cappuccino for Lucy, iced mocha for Callie, and an iced chai latte for me!” 

Before they can thank her, Callie is shoving Jay out of the booth and darting over to the counter. Jay sputters as she almost falls and Ellie is quick to grab her elbows while she catches her balance. 

“Should’ve probably gotten her decaf." Ellie mumbles under her breath. “What’s happening?” She sits down next to Amy. 

“Well, she was just about to tell us, when suddenly she recognized some guy at the counter and needed to get to him like he owes her money.” Says Lucy. 

Ellie’s eyes widen. “Oh. Oh, no. He has to be the merman she saw.” 

Amy chokes when her smoothie goes down the wrong way at that statement. Lucy pats her back while she coughs. “The what?!” 

Callie walks up to the boy. “Hi there!” 

“Oh my god.” Jay hides her face in her hands. 

He blinks at her, clearly taken off guard. “Oh, uh, hi?” 

Callie puts her hand out. “I’m Callie Simmons!” Her smile is a bit manic.

Amy winces. “It’s like a car crash. I can’t look away.” 

The boy reaches out and shakes her hand. “I’m Raphael. Uh. Miller. I go by Rafe, though.” 

Callie smiles and nods, still shaking his hand. “Raphael, like the ninja turtle!” 

Lucy slams her forehead into the table. 

Rafe chuckles awkwardly. “I definitely don’t think my parents named me after a ninja turtle.” He gently removes his hand from her grasp. “Not that I’m not up for meeting new people, but, is there something I can help you with?” 

Ellie watches, her hands clasped together tightly under her chin. “Please walk away. Let this be over.” 

“Just weird to see a new face! I know, like, everyone.” 

Ellie slides down her spot in the booth, like she’s contemplating hiding under the table. “What does she think she’s doing?” 

Jay shakes her head and refuses to remove her face from her hands so her words come out slightly muffled. “I think she thinks she’s interrogating him.”

“Oh!” Rafe gives her a small smile. “No, I’m not from here. I was born in America and then we moved to Italy when I was thirteen. I’m going to go to uni here and my parents wanted to stay close to me so they moved us here.” 

“Oh, wow. You do not look old enough to be going to uni.” 

“Should I fake an asthma attack?” Lucy asks. “I can’t take much more of this.” 

Rafe nods. “Yeah. I’m actually seventeen, I graduated early.” 

“Oh, neat! Do you like swimming?” 

“Do it.” Says Amy, desperately. “Lucy, do it.” 

“Do not!” Ellie hisses. 

Rafe pauses at that and looks her up and down. “..No. I tend to stay away from water. Look, it was nice meeting you, but I should get going, it’s getting dark. Maybe I’ll see you around.” He grabs his cup of to go coffee and leaves the cafe. 

Callie walks back to their booth and looks at them all in confusion. “What?” 

Jay finally stops hiding behind her hands. “Are you kidding me? You’re insane! Like, clinically!” 

“I was being friendly!” Callie protests. 

“No, you were, in fact, being insane.” Lucy states. 

Callie frowns at all of them. “This is serious! He’s a literal merman!” 

When a few people glance their way, Ellie immediately leaves the booth. “Okay, since for some reason you’re incapable of using your inside voice at the moment, let’s take this outside.” 

The other three agree, and while Callie rolls her eyes, she still follows. “This could be a problem for us! We’ve never met a merman. I didn’t even think they existed.” 

Lucy leans against a post on the pier they’re standing on. “Well, we’re mermaids, we exist, so it stands to reason that mermen exist too.” 

“But how? Did he change here? Ireland? Florida? Is there another moon pool we don’t know about?!” Callie starts pacing. 

“Why is this freaking you out so much?” Amy questions gently. 

Callie throws up her hands. “I don’t know! I just have this really, really weird feeling in my stomach about it.” 

Ellie nods. “Okay, and that’s valid, and understandable, but you can’t just interrogate random people. Even if said person is a merman.”

Jay walks to the very end of the pier. “Look,” She turns and faces them. “Callie, it’s okay. The world isn’t going to end just because we found out mermen are a thing. Nothing bad is going to happen. To any of us.” 

And because the universe loves to prove them wrong, in the blink of an eye, a water tentacle comes up out of the water, and grabs Jay, pulling her under. 

It happens almost in slow motion. 

In the shock of it all, Callie opens up her mouth. “Did..did the water just steal Jay?” 

“You can’t steal a person! The word you’re looking for is kidnapped!” Ellie says. 

Lucy springs into action first, fast as a bullet, she runs towards the end of the pier and dives in. That immediately snaps the others out of their shocked states, and they run as well, the three of them diving into the water and jetting off after them. 

They find themselves in the moon pool, the tentacle holding Jay in place as she tries to fight against it. Going into leader mode as always, Ellie points to Lucy and Callie, before pointing to the surface of the moon pool, signaling them to see if they can help from above while she and Amy help from underneath. They nod and rush to the surface.

Lucy grabs Jay's hand from above but gasps and lets go when a shock runs through her. Callie doesn’t seem to have the same problem, and grabs the hand that Lucy let go of, desperately trying to help her surface.

Amy reaches her hand out and begins using her power to try to fight against the water, trying to tug it away or at least loosen the grip it has on Jay. 

When that doesn’t work, Ellie uses her powers to freeze it, and it eventually shatters. Jay immediately swims to the surface. Ellie and Amy follow quickly. 

Jay gasps for breath, weakly swimming to the edge of the moon pool and resting her upper half on the submerged edge. “I am never opening my mouth about anything ever again.” She pants out. 

Callie lets out a relieved chuckle and reaches out to rub her back. “And you say I’m the jinx.” Her hands are shaking. 

All of their hands are, actually. The adrenaline from everything is wearing off. 

They all swim closer to her and attempt a group hug, which ends up being a bit awkward because of their tails. 

“Are you okay?” Amy asks 

At the same time Ellie asks “Are you hurt at all?” 

Jay shakes her head. “I’m okay. I think. Shocked, scared if I’m being honest, but I’m okay. Can we get out of here? Please?” 

Callie opens her mouth to say of course, obviously they can leave, they should, in fact. But she doesn’t get the chance. 

“No!” They all startle at the voice, moving even closer to each other. They watch in shock as a figure of a woman appears, but she flickers in and out, almost like a ghost. “Please. You cannot leave. It took all of my energy to create that tentacle. Please. I will not hurt you. I swear it.” 

“Who-who are you?” Amy asks. 

“My name is Eva.” 

Chapter Text

“Okay, Eva,” Lucy swims slightly forward, maneuvering her body in a way that looks like she’s trying to hide the others behind her. “There are a million questions running through my brain right now, but I’ll start with this one. Why did you grab Jay?” 

Eva, were she not incorporeal, would look like she’s taking in a breath. “I am deeply sorry for that, but I am running out of time. We have much less time than I thought. I had planned to talk to you all the last full moon, but you left in such a hurry that I could not make my presence known. I can only truly appear in a way I can be seen by others during a full moon.” 

Ellie squints at her. “It’s not a full moon. How are we seeing you now?” 

Eva gestures to a ring that until now has gone unnoticed. “My moon ring. It can harness the power of a full moon. I estimate I have an hour to speak to you all until it wears off. We do not have time to wait until the next full moon.” 

“Why?” Amy asks. 

“Time is running out.” 

“To do what?” Callie asks. 

Eva locks eyes with each of them one by one. “To save my pod. To save every pod that exists. To save merkind all together.” 

“..I’m sorry, to do what now?” Jay swims closer. “Can you stop talking like you’re from the eighteenth century and just talk to us without riddles?” 

Eva frowns at that. “..I am from the eighteenth century.” 

Ellie blinks. “Okay. I cannot do this as a mermaid, I need to sit down.” She drags herself out of the moon pool and the others nod in agreement, doing the same. Amy and Lucy dry them all off and they attempt to make themselves comfortable. “You’re from the eighteenth century?” 

Eva nods. “Yes. I died at the age of 19, after creating The Tower of Light to destroy a comet.” 

“Wait, do you mean Eva’s comet?” Callie asks. “My mom used to talk about that. It happened in Ireland.” 

“Yes, they named it after me. I do not know if I like that, as it’s what killed me, but I would do it again. Even though I failed.” She looks down, ashamed. “You see, we had no chance. The comet needed to be stopped, but our real chance of success was if it was stopped by someone who was of both land and sea. I was of the sea, but I hoped that perhaps, if I were to grow legs and start a life on land, I could also become of the land. It worked, in a way. However, I failed. Creating that tower killed me. And in turn, it killed my pod.” 

“Oh my god,” Amy speaks up. “They all died, too?” 

Tears pool in Eva’s eyes as she shakes her head. “They did not die. The pod itself did. You see, when a mermaid in a pod dies of non-natural causes, of old age, the pod they are in is considered a failure and it must disband. It is our way of life. I failed my sisters. I will not fail again.” She looks at them all. “I failed more than once. But with you, I was successful.” 

At this, the five of them exchange glances. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” Ellie starts. “What do you mean?” 

“There is a story, passed down for hundreds of years, for thousands of years. Each Moon Pool was created from a comet. There are five of them, meant to represent the five mermaids who came before. Who will come again.” She inhales a breath she doesn’t need to compose herself. “Not in any sort of reincarnation, but new girls who are meant to be the new representatives. My first failures were Gracie, Louise, and Julia. You see, it was always meant to be five landgirls. By the time Constance and Maeve were here, Gracie had already given up her powers, and so that generation was broken, and incomplete. The generation after was also a failure. Emma, Rikki, Cleo, Bella, and Charlotte.” 

Amy’s eyes widen at the mention of her aunt. 

“By the time Bella arrived, Charlotte had been stripped of her powers, rightfully so, she was never meant to transform in the Mako pool, anyway, and Emma had left. When they made The Tower of Light, Bella, Rikki, and Cleo, they got lucky. They almost died. They should have died.” 

“..What? My aunt..was stripped of her powers?” Amy looks devastated and Ellie, being the nearest to her, reaches out to hold her hand. 

“That’s a story for another day. I need to focus on this one. You five were a success. I knew to complete the circle I had to make sure that all of you were together when the star fell. And you were. You were able to become completely what you were meant to be, just like thousands of years ago. You are of the land, the sea, and of the stars.” 

“Why five? And what do you mean, become completely what we were meant to be?” Jay asks. 

“Five is a sacred number. It is the number of harmony and balance. The five senses, the five oceans, the five elements, and the five mermaids, and so much more.” Eva smiles at them for the first time. “You are the five, I made sure each of you would transform. Jasmine, I was the reason you felt drawn to the Florida moon pool, Calliope, I was the wind chimes that lead you to the Ireland moon pool, Amy, I created the gust of wind that sent you down the tunnel, Lucille, Eleanor, I was the one who made sure your boat stopped. I did not fail.” She beams now. “The five of you reached that final transformation with the star and I knew at that moment I had chosen right. I had succeeded perfectly. Each of you fit your titles, and rolls, perfectly.” 

Ellie stands and lurches herself backwards, slamming into the cave walls. “What-what are you talking about?” She puts a hand on her chest and the others at her side immediately. 

“The Five original mermaids each had a specific title and roll. Eleanor, you are The Leader, meant to inspire and direct, you represent the element of water.  Lucille, you are The Warrior, meant to fight and to protect, you represent the element of fire. Amy, you are The Healer, meant to bring peace, you represent the element of air. Calliope, you are The Pillar, meant to anchor and bring structure, you represent the element of earth. And Jasmine, you are The Guide, meant to light the way forward, to find the paths, you represent the element of light.” 

Jay only looks away from Ellie to address Eva with eye contact. “That makes no sense. I don’t control light in any way shape or form.” 

Eva frowns at her. “You do. Illusions and colors are scratching the surface of your abilities of complete light manipulation. You’re holding yourself back.” 

“Excuse me?” Jay glares at her. “You know nothing about me, about any of us! And stop using our names like that! I’m Jay, not Jasmine.” Eva takes a step toward them and Ellie immediately tries to distance herself further, wincing as she hits her head against the cave wall. “Hey, back off! Now!” Lucy moves to stand next to Jay and they stand in front of the others protectively. Jay turns her head and locks eyes with the blonde. “I’d grab onto you so we could create a human shield, but considering we shocked each other earlier it’s probably best we don’t.” 

Eva’s eyes widen. “You..shocked each other? That’s..incredible. I’ve never seen it in person. I’ve heard of it happening, of how rare, of s-“ 

“Would you shut up?!” Lucy snaps. “Do you not see how uncomfortable we are? Do you not understand the gravity of what you’re telling us? You can’t just lay all of us this on us, tell us how you’ve been puppeteering our lives and act like you’ve done something perfectly acceptable!” 

Ellie has sunken down the cave wall, shaking and barely able to breathe. “I can’t-I can’t.” 

Amy rubs her back while Callie crouches in front of her. “Ellie, hey, look at me. You’re okay. I know this is all shades of fucked up but you’re okay. We’re right here with you. You are so loved, and you’re safe with us.” 

When Eva takes a step back from them, Jay and Lucy quickly join in on comforting her. “We’re all right here. Not a single one of us will let anything happen to you. Breathe, Ellie, please. You have to breathe, honey.” 

Eva takes another step back and finally, Ellie takes in a full breath. “I did not mean to scare you, any of you. The three from the last generation-“ She stops when Lucy glares at her before going back to focusing on her best friend. 

Still in shock like the other and reeling from the panic attack, the words almost don’t register in her mind. 

Almost.

But she’s Ellie. Even with a foggy brain and not enough breath in her lungs, she’s still Ellie. “Wait, what? Three?” They all give her a questioning look. “You just said three. Four I would get, but three? Charlotte,” Her eyes flicker to Amy before coming back to Eva. “Charlotte was stripped of her powers and she passed away, that would leave four.” She stands on shaky legs, but she still stands. “What aren’t you telling us?”

Eva glances at all of them. “I have already told you so much, I fear if if I divulge any further-“ 

Annoyed and exhausted, Jay snaps. “Just say it!” 

Eva hesitates and takes a moment to respond before nodding. “There is another, besides Constance, whose life ended far before it was meant to.”

“Who?” Callie asks. 

Eva looks at Lucy, and while that in itself is answer enough, they still look at her expectingly, waiting for her to say it outright. 

“Your predecessor, Lucil-Lucy. Her life was taken years ago. Her name was Rikki Gilbert.”

Chapter Text

Her steps are steady, but her hands tremble, like they know exactly what she’s letting go of. When she reaches the shore, she turns her head to look back at the home she built with him. With her heart. She’s leaving half her heart behind, with Jack. And she’s leaving half her soul behind, with Constance. She holds back a sob and becomes so, so uncertain. So scared. So doubtful. 

And then. 

“Morning, love.” 

Rafe smiles and kisses his mom's temple, swiping a piece of toast. “Morning mom. Morning dad.” 

He sits down next to his father who doesn’t look up from the crossword he’s doing. “How’d you sleep?” 

“Pretty good,” He takes a bite of the toast and shrugs. “Always weird to sleep in a place the first night.” 

His mother hums in agreement. “First day in a new place. What are your plans for the day?” 

“Oh, y’know, the usual,” He grins and leans back in his chair. “I’ll probably find the local drug dealer, get on his good side. Rob a bank or two. Commit several acts of vandalism and if there’s time, go to the local marine park and tell everyone I’m a merman.” 

Beside him, his father snorts. “That’s not a completely full day, I’m sure you could squeeze in some arson before dinner.” 

Rafe points a finger at him. “Excellent idea!”

His mother gives them both an unimpressed look, followed by a long suffering sigh. “You’re going to kill me one day.” 

His grin softens into a smile. “I’m probably just going to explore. I was going to go to Dr. Gilbert’s lecture but she canceled it. I’ll just check out the sights instead. Maybe go for a swim. You said there’s a moon pool here, right?” 

He hears his dad mumble to himself. “Five letter word for something that inspires wonder..” 

His mom nods. “There is. Mako island. Please be careful, love, don’t let anybody see you.” 

He rolls his eyes lovingly. “Mom, I’ve got this. I’ve been doing this since the day I was born, same as you. Besides, if anything happens..” He twists his hand and immediately vanishes, untwisting it and coming back into view. “I can, quite literally, go invisible. Oh! Speaking of, can you do that yet?” 

His mom shakes her head. “Nope. I can still just create fog and turn objects invisible.” 

Rafe frowns at that. “I wish I could do that. Why can I only turn myself invisible?” 

“Don’t forget the water shields.”

His dad looks up from his crossword puzzle at that. “I can yodel and burp on command. Is that something?” 

“That’s something alright.” His mom mumbles, causing both men to laugh. His mom sighs and looks at him. “I need you to do me a favor, just for today.” 

“Uh-oh.” His dad says. 

She leans back against the counter. “I know you’re very close to being a legal adult and that you’re in university, but you’re still my kid at the end of the day. For my sake, just for today, please stick to a curfew of ten o’clock.” 

His dad stands to refill his cup of coffee and grab an apple. “Oh, come on, Maxine, give the kid a break.” 

Glaring at her husband, she reaches out with her index finger and places it on the apple, which immediately goes invisible. “Hey!” Rafe laughs and his father puts on an overdramatic show of betrayal, placing his hand over his heart. “First my wife, now my son. I’m outnumbered by merpeople, and it’s turned me into a target!” He turns back to Maxine and points a finger at her, which she pretends to bite at playfully. “The whole invisibility thing relies on light manipulation for both of you, right? Well, I’m taking all the light bulbs!” 

Maxine laughs and kisses him. “Felix, sweetheart, love of my life, taking the lightbulbs will accomplish nothing when the sun exists.” 

He throws his hands up in defeat. “Ugh, magic.” Then, his face brightens and he grins. “Magic!” Betrayal and apple forgotten, he speed walks over to the table, back to his crossword puzzle. “Five letter word for something that inspires wonder!” He fills in the word, clearly proud of himself. Sobering slightly, he gives his wife a reassuring smile. “He’ll be okay, Max. You were.”

She sighs, leaning back against the counter again, looking at both of them with love. “I know,” She directs her gaze to her son. “And you’re absolutely certain this is what you want?” 

Rafe nods. “It’s the most sure I’ve been about anything, mom. Dad’s a doctor, you’re a doctor, and I’m going to be a doctor, too.” 

She smiles softly at him. “It’s different, though. Your dad is a psychiatrist, and I’m a pathologist. You’re going to be a general surgeon.” 

Rafe squares his shoulders and straightens his back. “Mom, I can do this. I promise. Nobody will find out that I’m a merman. I need you to trust that I can do this.” 

She walks over to him and gently cups his cheek. “I do not ever want you to think I’m doubting you. That will never be something that I do. I’m just nervous, I can’t help it.” She kisses his forehead. “I’m your mom, I’m always going to worry, whether you’re a merman or not, whether you’re seventeen or seventy, I’m going to worry. That’s my job. But you’re right, you can do this.” 

His dad, never one to not ruin a sappy moment, nods his head. “This is a house of learn-ed doctors.” 

At the same time, Maxine and Rafe give him a deadpan stare. “Felix, if you ever quote Stepbrothers in this house again, I’m divorcing you.” 

Rafe leaves the house to the sound of his dad complaining and his mom laughing while she jokingly lists out how she’d divide their assets. 

She would, of course, leave him the lightbulbs. Because she’s very, very generous. He stops listening when her giggling is interrupted with a small ‘mpph!’ sound because he knows what that means, and he really does not want to listen to his parents make out in the kitchen like a couple of lovesick teenagers. He is, however, so very grateful that it seems like their love grows more everyday, even after almost twenty years of marriage. Love like that is rare, and it’s something he hopes to find himself one day. 

Rafe doesn’t exactly have a list of specifics for what he wants to do with the rest of the day. Outside of studying, he’s a very go with the flow personality, and so he chooses randomly. 

The beach is his first stop. It’s emptier than he expected it to be, but there are a few people walking around. He smiles when he sees a small house on the beach, a shack, really, and thinks about how it’s something his mom would probably adore as a vacation house. The windchimes and seashells on string move only slightly, with it not being all that windy today, but the sound is a comfort. 

He’s broken out of his daydream by the sound of someone yelling at him to look out, and he has only seconds to register that a volleyball is hurdling right towards him. Instinctively, both of his hands itch to move, to create a water shield that will stop said volleyball from hitting him, but, well. 

Obviously he can’t do that. 

So it hits him in the stomach and he stumbles, landing on his back, wind knocked out of him. He’s still wheezing when a man comes speed walking out of the small beach house and crouching next to him. “You alright, kid?” 

He gives a shaky thumbs up and the man laughs. “That was a nasty hit, here, let me help you up.” He grabs the hand offered to him and the older man pulls him up, helping to steady him when he sways slightly. “Easy there, son, you sure you’re alright?” 

Rafe nods and brushes the sand off himself to the best of his ability. “Yeah, thanks,” He pauses, leaning down to grab the volleyball and throw it back to the group. “Mr..” He trails off and the man smiles at him. 

“Boone. Call me Jack, though, everyone does.” 

Rafe nods and reaches out a hand, this time to shake his. “I’m Raphael. Call me Rafe, though,” He grins, parroting the words back. “Everyone does.” 

Jack laughs and gives him a pat on the back. “Nice to meet you kid. Now if you’ll excuse me, I promised my wife some homemade sushi. If I’m being honest, I don’t see the appeal, but at the end of the day, if wrapping up raw fish in rice and seaweed makes her happy, I’d eat for the rest of my life.” Immediately Rafe thinks of his parents. How his mother loathes the taste of avocado, but she still makes guacamole for his father and eats it right along with him. He gives Rafe one last smile before walking back inside his house. 

Since he’s here, Rafe decides the ocean is his next stop. And if he can find it, the moon pool. He jogs down towards the water, and checks to make sure no one is watching before running into the waves and diving underneath them. 

It takes him a bit longer than he planned to find it. He gets distracted by the marine life and, quite honestly, the underwater sights that are much more beautiful and interesting than Italy's. Before he knows it, hours have passed. By the time he finds the entrance to the moon pool, it’s getting dark. 

It has a large entrance, much larger than the one in Italy and he can feel the magic pulsating from it. Right as he’s about to swim through, he gets a very strong feeling that he’s being watched. He freezes for a moment, before twisting his hand and going invisible. When he turns around, nobody is there, but he knows someone has been because there’s bubbles that he knows did not come from a fish, more likely a scuba diver, but if he didn’t know any better, he’d swear that off in the distance, there was a familiar looking pattern of a merperson speed swimming away. 

Deciding to forgo completely exploring the moon pool, he swims away from the entrance and jets off back to the beach. He’s a bit disappointed, but safety is always the number one priority, and there’s always tomorrow. 

Once he’s back on shore and dried, slight exhaustion begins to creep in and he realizes he skipped out on his morning coffee today, too distracted by everything. 

It isn’t hard to find a cafe, Roots is an easy walk and he breathes in deep, the smell of various coffees and baked goods bringing comfort as he walks in. The barista smiles at him when he walks up to the counter. “Hey there, what can I get for you?” 

“Just a black coffee, please.” He pulls out his phone and quickly scans to pay. In his peripheral, he sees someone walking towards him and turns to look properly. 

“Hi there!” 

He blinks, immediately taken aback by her almost manic energy. She’s very pretty, dirty blonde hair tied up in space buns and hazel eyes. 

What happens next is probably one of the strangest conversations he’ll have in his entire life. He goes along with it, for a moment, because, well, she is very pretty, and also a bit because he’s been taken aback very quickly and isn’t quite processing just how odd this is. 

When she, Callie Simmons, he learns very quickly is her name, mentions swimming, his interest in entertaining the conversation for one second longer plummets and he’s rushing out as fast as he can, coffee in hand. 

When he gets home, it’s a little past nine PM and his mom thanks him in the form of his favorite dinner. “How was your day?” She asks. 

“Did you commit any crimes?” His dad asks, grinning and moving out of the way as his mom whips a towel at him. 

He debates telling them about Callie, about what she asked, but he doesn’t want to cause his mom any unnecessary worry, especially because he has no proof that she wasn’t simply trying to make a move on him and failing miserably at it, so he doesn’t. “It was good, a bit slow. I got distracted when I was swimming so I didn’t have much time for anything else.” 

His mom hums in understanding, and when she opens her mouth to ask something else, her laptop that’s sitting on the living room coffee table begins to make a noise. “Oh!” She leaves the kitchen and both men follow her. “I completely forgot about the zoom schedule. Rafe, come say hi to your grandma!” 

“Which one?” He quips. “I have two.” 

She rolls her eyes and sits on the couch. “The one that gave birth to me.” They sit on either side of her as she answers the zoom call. “Mom, hi!” 

On the other side of the screen, his grandmother beams at them. “Hi, darling. Hi, Felix. And oh look, my favorite grandson!” 

Rafe snorts. “I’m your only grandson.” 

She shrugs her shoulders and grins. “Well, that could always change.” 

At that, his mom scoffs. “No, thank you. One mer pregnancy was enough. I still cannot believe you never told me I’d be pregnant with this one for an entire year until the ten month mark.” 

His grandmother laughs, low and warm. “Well, you were born at sea. It was a bit harder to keep track. And to be fair, I wasn’t sure if you’d be giving birth to a merperson or a regular person. I guess they need that extra trimester. But enough of that, how is everyone? Are you settling in alright?” 

The four of them talk for about an hour before his mom and dad head off to bed, leaving just the two of them. “You’re in Ireland now, right? How is it?” 

She takes a moment to answer and she looks like she goes somewhere else inside of her head before coming back to herself. “It’s exactly where I need to be.” 

“I understand that, I think. I’ve only been here two days but it’s like  an odd feeling that I belong here. I can’t explain it.” He leans back against the couch and fails to hide his yawn. 

She smiles at him in a way that only a grandmother could smile at their grandchild and her voice goes soft. “Get some rest, darling. I’ll talk to you all tomorrow, hmm?” 

He nods and yawns again, leaning in to press the end call button on Zoom. “Goodnight, grandma.” 

From their bedroom, can he hear his parents say it too. “Goodnight mom!” his mother shouts. 

Normally, his dad would also jokingly call her mom, but he must be half asleep because he yells out, “Goodnight, Maeve!” and the call ends. 

On the other side of the screen, hair growing grey, face aged, but brown eyes still filled with the same youth she had years ago, Maeve Wright closes her laptop and stands, walking towards the open balcony of the hotel she’s staying at, breathes in the sea air, lets a tear fall before wiping it away and smiles. 

And then. 

Her uncertainty changes into something fierce, and her fear turns into something protective. She places a hand on her belly, where a bump has yet to even begin to form, but she can somehow feel her, and she steels herself, clenches her jaw. “My daughter will not be a part of your prophecy, Eva. You have made it abundantly clear that you are willing to do anything to meet your goal.” She takes in a breath. Remembers Eva’s non corporeal form telling her she’s pregnant, just a month along. Remembers the way her determination came across as threatening when she mentioned Jack. 

The hesitation all but disappears. She glares at the reflection of the moon on the water. “But you don’t seem to understand that I will do anything to protect my daughter from your prophecy. From you. Even if I have to shatter myself in the process.” She takes one more look, says goodbye to half her heart, half her soul, and focuses entirely on the being that is going to have both, fully. 

She dives into the water, and she swims, and swims, and swims. 

And she does not, can not, look back.