u/Waste-Narwhal9464

It started out harmless. 
My love life grew formless.
It started with a question so crystalline.
His tone was sweet like cherry wine.
We worked together so well.
Though, the lines blurred as I fell.
Each night was engulfed with his vision.
I found my mind had memorized his facial composition.
In my dreams I’d find warmth. 
And my intentions had transformed. 
Purple tinged the edges of my mind. 
My delusions rendered me blind. 
Soft susurrations echoed in my brain.
His voice marked my ears like a bloodstain. 
I’d find any excuse to be near. 
Then silently wondered if I was instilling fear.
I spent hours thinking of what to say. 
But by the time I got there, I couldn’t get it through my airway.
Day by day, I grew to know him more and more. 
But then realized how little he knew of me and wondered if I was a bore.
Personality so magnetic. 
Was our connection purely cosmetic?
My mannerisms, he’d copy. 
Observations began to feel shoddy.

Hello ! I saw a few clips of the show Hilda Furacão and I saw the only place I should stream it was Globoplay.

I’m from the states and wasn’t sure if it was 1) accessible to us here 2) another way to watch without getting 12 mil viruses 3) have any of you watched it ?

Hello ! American here, I was wondering if anyone has any Australian specific music or band recommendations from the early 2000's ? I know The Getaway Plan was a big punk band and was pretty popular ! I want to learn more about Australian culture since I've recently developed an interest in general in the country !

Zane

Her skin was warm and damp, a fever maybe, something worse most likely. Her head lobbed to one side as she fell unconscious and her body had begun to crumple under her own weight in my arms. Dragging her limp body over to one of the booths, I laid her across the table and used my hand to support her neck. My knees bent into the soft padding of the booth chair until I could feel the wood below. My eyes rapidly vaulted all over her, from her pale face to the scales appearing one by one atop fresh skin that hadn’t been claimed yet, then to her throat. Frilled edges tinged with a pink hue stuck out like short, thin ruffles from the sides of her neck. I reached up to inspect one of the mysterious ripples when Lewis had latched a hand onto my left shoulder and held me back.

“Don’t. It could be dangerous.” His voice was cold and distant, icy eyes matched his tone with such precision that I had taken the time to wonder when he grew so distant--when he disassociated from it all. Her, me, the group's friendship. Why would he let it get in the way of her safety?

“Dangerous? Look at her, she’s turning into something.” I reached up again just to be met with another forceful yank from Lewis' grasp. I refused to move, only turning to look at him while I snatched my shoulder away, breaking the grip he tried to maintain. I needed to know what was happening with her. 

Even though he huffed behind me in disapproval, I reached my hand out up to her neck one final time. Thumbing the edge of the protruding ripple from her neck, lifting it ever so slightly, a wet mucus like liquid squished as I lifted each one up to inspect.

Underneath resided a pulsating open wound. I checked under the next ripple and found another wound, and under the next ripple, I found the same. My eyes instinctively squinted as I tried to make sense of what I was looking at, until I had begun to rethink what could have happened to her. Silent memories flashed through the back of my brain filled with Mako Island, typing up research, and the scrape of glowing coral against her shoulder. That’s when it finally hit me, I knew what these wounds were, the ripples, the pulsation, they were gills.

Can you guess who the mysterious girl is?

I'm writing a fanfic piece and was curious how many people actually like this ship !

Lewis POV

Obliging, I half-heartedly limped my way over to the booth and set the bag down. The table wobbled under the pressure and quickly, I scrambled to steady it. My hands clasped around the edge of the table, the metal ridging digging into the flesh of my palms. 

“You break it, you buy it. Am I going to have to charge you?” Rikki’s voice rang out playfully as she wheeled over a cart filled with various supplies. A plethora of crepe paper in pink and purples hues, stickers in the shape of marine animals, a handful of small plushies from the Marine Park, a large melamine punch bowl and a matching crystal colored ladle sat inside, and a stringed garland with glitter coated stars in a neon rainbow order practically begged to spill out from the sides of the cart.

“What? No, no. I was just moving the table back, it was…on a hill.” I spun around to be met with the cart and eyed the sides, pushing back a stuffed beluga whale to the inner center.

“On a hill?” Rikki questioned as one brow shot up higher than the other, her lips parted in confusion, forming a half-smile. 

“Yeah, yeah. It’s pretty common in cafes,” I moved my head, looking off, at nothing in particular honestly. “Anyways, what’s all this for? Some kids' birthday party?” I picked up another small plush, this time a soft dolphin, the black beaded eyes reflected dim glowing orbs from the soft lights. 

“Cleo’s birthday.” Her deadpan voice alarmed me first, my eyes shot up to meet hers. Her straight face was enough to keep me silent and my grip on the dolphin grew tighter.

“Right. Obviously, I know it’s her birthday…” I trailed off, cheeks lightly dusted a fair shade of raspberry. The choked, stuttering laugh that came from my throat leaned more into a scoff.

“Today.” she filled in for my lack of continued sentences. She offered nothing more, and nothing less.

“Yes! I knew that, I’m just messing with you, Rikki. Don’t tell me you’re that gullible to think I wouldn’t remember something as important as Cleo’s birthday. I’m her…” I trailed off once more, the atmosphere thick with anticipation and second hand embarrassment. “So, where are we putting these little guys?” I began to pluck all of the plushies out of the cart and filled an armful with each new one to avoid Rikki’s gaze. 

“These,” she grabbed the assortment of animals in one swift armful from mine“are going over here.” She escorted the assortment over to the bar and lined them up to face the side door by the stage where Cleo would always come through. “Start going through the bag.” she instructed as she angled each animal and spaced them apart. 

DM or comment for link/name of where to read the full 4,094 Word chapter if you're interested ! <3

Hi ! I made this moodboard based off of a character. Can you guess who ?

https://preview.redd.it/lv3r04g059ch1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=91c1350586e2a96d7e282f8cfc4105905322159b

Okay, I shouldn’t have entertained him, or even talked to him, especially after Rikki made it clear that she didn’t want us to talk to him anymore. But he wanted help to keep developers away from Mako, so I thought typing up documents for him while he researched would be fine. He found all sorts of species that would go extinct or endangered at least and made me type up pages upon pages of statistics that he found. My hands would ache and cramp for hours on end, but he never relented. Or…maybe he just never let me take a break and I couldn’t say no to him. It was hard to know if he and Rikki would get back together every other month and have him put back on the good side. 

At least it was a change from mermaids and he was devoting himself to helping the environment. He would carry a folder with him everywhere he went, then it became a binder from how many papers we would type and print up. He’d collect maps and even visit Mako after nightfall to map out the island as best he could to color code how important each section of the island was to be undisturbed. 

His dad had backed off buying the island and developing it when Zane and Rikki had attended a meeting, that much I knew, but he didn’t give me much other details than that. I don’t know what’s going on or why, but his story sometimes feels too real to question and other times too fake to believe. 

My dad changed his mind. He wants a new project and he’s bringing along some scientists to develop it. Safely he said, but I never was one to trust him. If we can research everything and write a paper with maps and graphs, we can try to legally pursue him. 

I objected to the legal route, I’m not fighting a millionaire, no matter how strongly I feel on the matter. But, it was admirable to see him so passionate about something outside of Rikki for once. He’s become a person with an actual personality, and not just a jerk who pretends anymore. 
Tonight, he sits on the floor at the coffee table in my living room, right hand strangled through the muddling of his inky black hair. His brows are pulled tight together as he reviews his newest color coded map with highlighters scattered across the table. A bundle of markers sit beside him, the vibrant rainbow a stark contrast to the black jeans that stretch across his crossed legs. 

The paper still feels warm between my fingertips as I stack them in the corner on top of his newest six inch binder. He got tired of carrying one inch binders around town, but refused to get the biggest binder he could find until I forced him to while we were out buying more supplies for tonight. 
“Ah, thanks, Cleo.” he looked up for a moment, but quickly returned to the map while picking up a blue highlighter. I sat on the floor with him, moving the markers to my lap as I messed with the rubber band I tied around it earlier. 

“What are you marking up now?” I peer over sideways to look at his newest additions, it looked like a giant heap of rainbow was neatly organized yet thrown up on the map. I never understood how he organizes his maps or why he does it this way, but he’s the one in charge of it. I’m just here to help! 

“You see this?” he turns the map to face me, he points to the new blue waves he drew. He maneuvered onto his knees, moving closer to me, pointing around the map. 

“The moon pool?” It was near the opening of the cave where we fell into, why would he mark that up? 

“That’s what I drew for dangerous areas. The cave for the moon pool and the inner area where the exit from the moon pool is."He seems proud, based on the big smile on his face. 

“But don’t you think that’ll make them more curious about those areas? Won’t they want to investigate and see it for themselves?” His gaze wasn’t hard or scary, but it was full of blinded ambition, I could tell. Almost like anything I would say right now would be ignored no matter how level headed. 

“Don’t worry about that. All these developers are fancy suits who wouldn’t go to the island unless it was developed anyways. They send other people like scientists and construction workers to do all the actual work so they can reap all the benefits.” he sounds so sure of himself, I just wish I could be so sure too. “I wouldn’t let anything happen to the moon pool, don’t you remember how I helped you with Doctor Denmen?” his smile, his teeth shine so brightly, just like his eyes. My chest is starting to feel weird, it feels like how I used to feel when I sat next to Lewis in silence. “You trust me, don’t you, Cleo?” Do I trust him? Has he done enough to make me feel like I can trust him? I guess if I didn’t it wouldn’t make sense, after everything he’s done to help us. 

I nod slowly, “Yes, I’m sorry. I’m just worried about another Denmen situation.” it’s true, but I’m also worried about Zane handing that information over. What if someone’s like Charlotte and becomes a mermaid and they can’t handle it? Or if they don’t deserve it? I could feel my eyes reflexively squint as I struggled to handle my thoughts bombarding me at the same time as I spoke. 

“Don’t. I’ll protect you, besides, that’s what I’m here for.” The eye contact feels a little too intense, almost suffocating. It feels wrong sort of, in a way I can’t really explain. It makes my mind quiet, but my stomach knows this isn’t completely fine. His eyes slowly trailed from mine to my nose maybe, and landed below on something. My chin maybe, or my lips? There wasn’t any real way that would be happening, right?

“To protect me?” the words felt too possessive. I feel like I’m being a bad friend to Rikki just by having this conversation. 

“And the others too of course. This is for Mako, remember? And all the other mermaids that could be.” he finally breaks the long heated closeness between us as he takes the map back and finishes some final touches for the night. “Is it cool if I leave this here tonight? I don’t want my dad to know anything before it’s completely done and we’re ready for the next step.” 
The heat rushed away from my cheeks as I looked up at him, now standing as he rolls the map up and slaps a new rubber band around it. “Next step?” He plopped the map down on the table, luckily not spilled or chucking anything else off the table with it. 

“Yeah, actually stopping them from touching Mako. Once and for all. Environmental rights are surging, this could be a breakthrough for the community if we bring all of our research to them and get Mako protected.” His optimism radiates off of him as he rummages one of his back pockets for something. He pulls out a small keychain, a tropical colored fish dangling from the metal chain links. The resin bounces off of the fish, making it sparkle in the dim light of the living room. The fish’s fins have such an electric blue hue to them, it’s hard to resist staring. “Like it?” His voice comes out soft and tender. 

“It’s cute, it sparkles even from the lamp light.” the note came out oddly soft from me too. He tossed the keychain at me without warning, and luckily, it missed my face and hit the carpet next to me. Picking it up, I could feel the sparkles embedded under the resin. The hexagon shaped plastic glitter gave the fish as much whimsy as he could hold, besides an even more whimsical name. 

“Happy birthday, Cleo.” He smiled and silently made his exit, making sure to close the door without slamming it. Intentionality has become his new thing, I guess, huh? I look at the clock on the mantle that dad bought years ago, the ticking ringing in my ears as I concentrate on the time. 

12:15 AM

April nineteenth already, huh? A wide smile broke out on my face, my cheeks almost cramping from the stretch.

I couldn’t stand seeing her with Cleo all the time, just taking over as if I never existed, as if Emma never existed. Just because she’s new and a mermaid too, I couldn’t say anything without everyone turning on me. She sat on the stool as she sang, holding the microphone stand close to her lips. She was too lazy to even stand while she was performing, I could have given that stage time to any other band that asked instead of her and Nate’s band. Throwing the damp rag against the countertop, I stalked back toward Zane and I’s office. I just needed to get away from her. 

After a moment, no knock or anything, Zane came walking through the door looking confused as ever. “What’s wrong?” he questioned, shutting the door softly, trying not to make a scene I guess. 

“Nothing. Everything’s fine.” I shut the conversation down, sinking into the couch near the moonlit window. He slowly stepped around the coffee table, the sounds of his shoes clacking on the hardwood floor filled the room. He plopped down into the cushion beside me and the faint sounds of Bella’s singing could be heard through the closed door. 

We sat there in silence until the reverberation of Bella’s singing stopped shaking the walls and floors. Even a dying cat wouldn’t have made such a ruckus. Zane made no move to touch me, to talk to me, he just sat there doing nothing as usual. He never does anything, so complacent with everything in his life even when we can’t make ends meet. A rasp at the door broke my stream of thoughts, yet neither of us made a move to answer the door. Everyone always walked in anyways, there was no need for us to get up, no need for us to act like we had privacy or the respect of real managers or owners of a cafe. 

The familiar brassy blonde hair sways in through the doorway as she stepped through and wedged herself as a blockade. “Is everything alright?” Bella asked, concern plaguing her face in a way I’d like to wipe off her. 

“Yes, everything’s fine,” I jolted up to my feet, fishing my phone out of my pocket, I let it swim freely to the coffee table. “Why don’t you call Will, he might have thought you died by the way you were singing up there.” We never broke eye contact, so the small twitch from her eyebrow and the slump of her shoulders in my peripheral vision felt like the cherry on top. 
“Rikki.” Zane warned, reprimanding me like I’m some child. 

“If she wants to keep singing, she has to be actually good at it. I can’t afford to keep losing customers because of her.” My jaw had tightened, the flexing was enough to start hurting my teeth. “Not like she’d know anything about how important work is when she can’t even handle a simple job.” I felt my eyes glazing over, dissociating from the moment, I just wanted to leave or to be out of my body entirely. Her lips thinned into an uncomfortable scowl–trying not to cry. It felt pathetic, it fit her ‘poor me’ aesthetic well. 

“You’re just a bully.” She disappeared through the doorway and Zane pushed past me, rushing after her. Yet, he stopped once he came to the door and slowly gazed at me. Mouth agape, his brows tucked downward and eyes as distant as he’s become from me.

“You need to get a grip, Rikki. It wasn’t her fault, so let it go.” and once again, he chose everyone and everything over me. It was always everything else over me, I was and never have been the first pick. I never would be.

Tell me who I should write a short scene about next !

View Poll

If I were to write a novella or a longer fiction piece and use the magical system that is established in H2O, would I need to watch Mako Mermaids as well ? I know we see there are other moon pools with Bella, but in general from what I understand is

1. any water outside of your body turns you into a mermaid

2)to be in a moon pool on a full moon makes you a mermaid or if already a mermaid can take your powers away for 12 hours (or completely once every 50 years)

3. the rate they turn into mermaids is determined by how much water actually touched them so the more water means the quicker they will turn

4. their powers from the basic three they got originally would be normal for a core moon pool but something like the smaller moon pool could give out the coagulation power that Bella has

5. the extra powers the girls got were from a different full moon episode, and would require all three mermaids to be present in the pool to receive them

6. the moon pool would be located somewhere that typically is closed off like how Mako is surrounded by sharks and why most people don’t go there besides the daredevils and the insane like Charlotte

Are there any other worldly system things I missed ? I couldn’t think of anything for the later half of season three since I haven’t watched that far yet !

The empty booth and half knocked back drinks; it’s always the same. Stuck cleaning up the mess after the girls run away to go on whatever adventure they’re up to again without me. I was getting sick of them rubbing it in my face all the time, how easy it was for them to move on and forget about me–about our friendship. How was I suddenly so easily replaceable? Was I even replaced? Was I just so unliked by them that not being there makes no difference? 

It didn't help that Cleo felt like she was going back and forth on her decision. It didn't help that Emma was the only voice of reason, but decided to stay out of it. It didn't help that Rikki gave me a death stare any time I was around like I was at the center of all the worlds' problems. It didn't help that I felt like I lost my three closest friends in an instant over a decision that wasn't even mine.

My stomach felt like the shark infested waters of Mako, unpredictable and vulnerable. Trudging over to the empty booth, I grabbed the half-drunk smoothie glasses left behind and crumpled up the scattered napkins that laid underneath them. I paused for a moment and listened to the sounds of the cafe. The blender whirring, customers coming up and asking for new drinks Ash put on the menu, and the agitated complaints from the pool table. I hated how silent life felt without them. The time for sulking was over, yet the bright yellow of the paper napkins felt like they were mocking me. 

Be happy. 

But all I could think was “*your friends don’t care about you. They don’t even remember you. They can’t even stand being near you that they leave as soon as you enter the cafe”.* 

The glasses were still cool, condensation pooled around my fingers, everything, just everything was reminding me of her. 

Of them. 

Them. 

I was so exhausted from dealing with this, with them, with it all. They’ve acted like I don’t have my own life going on, my own problems. I couldn’t always be there to do whatever they wanted. As perfect and awesome as I’d like to think I am, I could only handle so much, let alone deal with their secrets. 

But why does she always look like she’s going to cry when she sees me? What did I do so wrong? It was her choice to break up with me. Soft fingertips found their way curling around my shoulder, brushing slightly across the beige vest I bought just last week. I’d like to say I looked cool, even manly as I turned around to face who I thought she was, but judging by the way I not only was being looked at by a different person, but she looked worried for me, I’m going to say I might’ve spun a bit faster than I needed to. 

“Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something.” Her smile fell a bit flat, it had been fizzling out for weeks now, like me. Charlotte. Her eyes scanned my face slowly, then, my neck, and--why was she looking at my shoulders? 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just helping,” I held up the three smoothie glasses awkwardly as I padded my way towards the counter of the juice bar. Even though my heart was beating somewhat rapidly, half excited from seeing Charlotte, and half disappointed she wasn't Ivy, it felt weird. Giving the glasses back with a curt nod, I walked back over to the chair I had been sitting at and grabbed my messenger bad and slung it over my shoulder. “Ready?” my raised eyebrows felt too high, my smile somewhat too forced, but still, I held my hand out and she intertwined her fingers with mine. In her other hand she held a new plastic to-go cup filled with whatever juice she asked for. I couldn't remember if she likes sweet juices or tart ones. Or if she would get juices at all or smoothies like the girls.

We passed through the beaded curtain of the cafe, the sun blinding my eyes as she directed me down the ramp, always my guide, she was. “Do you want to go to the beach today, or do you want to take me out on your boat?” she asked as her steps became playful, her smile wider and filled with some sort of hope. Sometimes it had become too infectious to not smile back, so I did, but not nearly as radiant or wide as hers. I knew I liked her, but the silent question prodding at the back of my mind of if I liked her as much as I liked Cleo was one I had to choke on.

“Yeah, let’s go out the boat.” I nodded in agreement with her and we headed towards the fishing docks. We kept bumping into each other over and over and laughing up a storm as we walked deeper into the depths of the salty ocean air. 

I would make this work, I decided; she chose me and she actually wants me around. She hopped in the boat with her content smile as usual, happy to have her way, or maybe just happy to be with me. Though, no matter how much I would try to convince myself or the girls, we'd all say it wasn't because she was happy to be with me. She just wanted to know their secret, or to be the catalyst of their downfall for whatever vendetta she feels she's owed. I never understood why they thought this, why they couldn't just get along with Charlotte, all she ever wanted were friends too. But she has me, and I have her, two of a kind we were. 

She begged and pleaded with me to take her to Mako, I hated this island and would forever hate this island for as long as I lived. The girls loved this place, it's where they all became friends, and right then was where Charlotte's obsession landed for all her drawings and paintings. But, doing my due diligence as a good boyfriend, I took her to Mako Island as she asked while she sipped on the red juice that stained her lips, a deep shade of cranberry that reminded me of Christmas. 

When she laughed, her tongue was as red as a popsicle, I couldn't help but smile and enjoy the small moments as I got them with her. Being with Charlotte was easy, as easy as sipping juice on a Thursday afternoon near Mako's cavernous depths. The windy breeze gliding along the boat and whisking Charlotte's bangs to the side as she clasped her drink tighter, intent on finishing every last drop she paid for was enough to calm me. I could feel my body relax, my shoulders slump and my head dropped with the dumbest smile on my face. 

"What?" she asked, I could hear the smile in her voice and it pulled at me in such a pure way, that I couldn't help but finally look up at her. I thinned my lips and shook my head. 

"Got anything left?" I asked as I looked off towards the caves, noticing how the seaweed had washed along the beach like tossed green spaghetti. 

"My drink?" she lifted the cup to the sky and examined the bottom as she stared through. A satisfied hum hung low from her throat, "A little, why?" her query went unanswered. The boat was far from being stationed, but close enough to the coast that if we fell over, we'd be able to swim up to the beach. I didn't rise fully, but I crouched over towards her half of the boat and squeezed myself next to her, our thighs and upper arms squished together, but it wasn't unpleasant. "Hi?" her confused chuckle was mirrored by mine.

"Hi," the sound of her laugh was like a melody being sung from a music box, I couldn't stop smiling. I wouldn't meet her eyes, it felt too awkward even for me. Instead, I kept my eyes trained on her hands in her lap. The silence was soft, gentle, comforting, and lasted for moments, maybe even a handful more than what was comfortable. 

I felt myself leaning forward, but the action wasn't entirely intentional. Pivoting, I slid down towards where her hands rested on top of her lap. "Hey!" She tapped on my chest and tried to push my shoulder back as I had finished off the rest of the juice through her lightly chewed on straw. Drops of juice dripped along my chin as I fell backward, balancing myself using my right hand on the bottom of the boat. I brought my left hand up to my eyebrow, trying to play it off cool. "Oh...oh." she snickered, using her fingertips to cover her ruby stained lips. 

"What?" I swiped my tongue over my bottom lip, the sweetness of the pomegranate zinging along my tastebuds. 

"You're all red." she gestured to her lips with her own red and pink stained smile. It was becoming her signature color, and maybe mine too.

The empty booth and half knocked back drinks; it’s always the same. Stuck cleaning up the mess after the girls run away to go on whatever adventure they’re up to again without me. I was getting sick of them rubbing it in my face all the time, how easy it was for them to move on and forget about me–about our friendship. How was I suddenly so easily replaceable? Was I even replaced? Was I just so unliked by them that not being there makes no difference? 

It didn't help that Cleo felt like she was going back and forth on her decision. It didn't help that Emma was the only voice of reason, but decided to stay out of it. It didn't help that Rikki gave me a death stare any time I was around like I was at the center of all the worlds' problems. It didn't help that I felt like I lost my three closest friends in an instant over a decision that wasn't even mine.

My stomach felt like the shark infested waters of Mako, unpredictable and vulnerable. Trudging over to the empty booth, I grabbed the half-drunk smoothie glasses left behind and crumpled up the scattered napkins that laid underneath them. I paused for a moment and listened to the sounds of the cafe. The blender whirring, customers coming up and asking for new drinks Ash put on the menu, and the agitated complaints from the pool table. I hated how silent life felt without them. The time for sulking was over, yet the bright yellow of the paper napkins felt like they were mocking me. 

Be happy. 

But all I could think was “*your friends don’t care about you. They don’t even remember you. They can’t even stand being near you that they leave as soon as you enter the cafe”.* 

The glasses were still cool, condensation pooled around my fingers, everything, just everything was reminding me of her. 

Of them. 

Them. 

I was so exhausted from dealing with this, with them, with it all. They’ve acted like I don’t have my own life going on, my own problems. I couldn’t always be there to do whatever they wanted. As perfect and awesome as I’d like to think I am, I could only handle so much, let alone deal with their secrets. 

But why does she always look like she’s going to cry when she sees me? What did I do so wrong? It was her choice to break up with me. Soft fingertips found their way curling around my shoulder, brushing slightly across the beige vest I bought just last week. I’d like to say I looked cool, even manly as I turned around to face who I thought she was, but judging by the way I not only was being looked at by a different person, but she looked worried for me, I’m going to say I might’ve spun a bit faster than I needed to. 

“Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something.” Her smile fell a bit flat, it had been fizzling out for weeks now, like me. Charlotte. Her eyes scanned my face slowly, then, my neck, and--why was she looking at my shoulders? 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just helping,” I held up the three smoothie glasses awkwardly as I padded my way towards the counter of the juice bar. Even though my heart was beating somewhat rapidly, half excited from seeing Charlotte, and half disappointed she wasn't Cleo, it felt weird. Giving the glasses back with a curt nod, I walked back over to the chair I had been sitting at and grabbed my messenger bad and slung it over my shoulder. “Ready?” my raised eyebrows felt too high, my smile somewhat too forced, but still, I held my hand out and she intertwined her fingers with mine. In her other hand she held a new plastic to-go cup filled with whatever juice she asked for. I couldn't remember if she likes sweet juices or tart ones. Or if she would get juices at all or smoothies like the girls.

We passed through the beaded curtain of the cafe, the sun blinding my eyes as she directed me down the ramp, always my guide, she was. “Do you want to go to the beach today, or do you want to take me out on your boat?” she asked as her steps became playful, her smile wider and filled with some sort of hope. Sometimes it had become too infectious to not smile back, so I did, but not nearly as radiant or wide as hers. I knew I liked her, but the silent question prodding at the back of my mind of if I liked her as much as I liked Cleo was one I had to choke on.

“Yeah, let’s go out the boat.” I nodded in agreement with her and we headed towards the fishing docks. We kept bumping into each other over and over and laughing up a storm as we walked deeper into the depths of the salty ocean air. 

I would make this work, I decided; she chose me and she actually wants me around. She hopped in the boat with her content smile as usual, happy to have her way, or maybe just happy to be with me. Though, no matter how much I would try to convince myself or the girls, we'd all say it wasn't because she was happy to be with me. She just wanted to know their secret, or to be the catalyst of their downfall for whatever vendetta she feels she's owed. I never understood why they thought this, why they couldn't just get along with Charlotte, all she ever wanted were friends too. But she has me, and I have her, two of a kind we were. 

She begged and pleaded with me to take her to Mako, I hated this island and would forever hate this island for as long as I lived. The girls loved this place, it's where they all became friends, and right then was where Charlotte's obsession landed for all her drawings and paintings. But, doing my due diligence as a good boyfriend, I took her to Mako Island as she asked while she sipped on the red juice that stained her lips, a deep shade of cranberry that reminded me of Christmas. 

When she laughed, her tongue was as red as a popsicle, I couldn't help but smile and enjoy the small moments as I got them with her. Being with Charlotte was easy, as easy as sipping juice on a Thursday afternoon near Mako's cavernous depths. The windy breeze gliding along the boat and whisking Charlotte's bangs to the side as she clasped her drink tighter, intent on finishing every last drop she paid for was enough to calm me. I could feel my body relax, my shoulders slump and my head dropped with the dumbest smile on my face. 

"What?" she asked, I could hear the smile in her voice and it pulled at me in such a pure way, that I couldn't help but finally look up at her. I thinned my lips and shook my head. 

"Got anything left?" I asked as I looked off towards the caves, noticing how the seaweed had washed along the beach like tossed green spaghetti. 

"My drink?" she lifted the cup to the sky and examined the bottom as she stared through. A satisfied hum hung low from her throat, "A little, why?" her query went unanswered. The boat was far from being stationed, but close enough to the coast that if we fell over, we'd be able to swim up to the beach. I didn't rise fully, but I crouched over towards her half of the boat and squeezed myself next to her, our thighs and upper arms squished together, but it wasn't unpleasant. "Hi?" her confused chuckle was mirrored by mine.

"Hi," the sound of her laugh was like a melody being sung from a music box, I couldn't stop smiling. I wouldn't meet her eyes, it felt too awkward even for me. Instead, I kept my eyes trained on her hands in her lap. The silence was soft, gentle, comforting, and lasted for moments, maybe even a handful more than what was comfortable. 

I felt myself leaning forward, but the action wasn't entirely intentional. Pivoting, I slid down towards where her hands rested on top of her lap. "Hey!" She tapped on my chest and tried to push my shoulder back as I had finished off the rest of the juice through her lightly chewed on straw. Drops of juice dripped along my chin as I fell backward, balancing myself using my right hand on the bottom of the boat. I brought my left hand up to my eyebrow, trying to play it off cool. "Oh...oh." she snickered, using her fingertips to cover her ruby stained lips. 

"What?" I swiped my tongue over my bottom lip, the sweetness of the pomegranate zinging along my tastebuds. 

"You're all red." she gestured to her lips with her own red and pink stained smile. It was becoming her signature color, and maybe mine too.