Alone With You (Remma)

The Hero

It was a rather hot day on the Gold Coast as Rikki and Emma sat on the beach watching Emma's little brother, Elliot, receive surfing lessons from their surfer classmate, Byron. They had yet to enter the water because the first lesson was perfecting his surfing movements on the safety of the sand. Elliot took it upon himself to complain to Byron and then to Emma and then even to Rikki about not being in the water yet, but they all explained that it was for his own safety.

Byron walked over to the sunbathing girls, leaving Elliot to continue practicing with his board on the sand.

"Hey Emma, the Clean up the Beach Rally is starting," he said. "Are you gonna come?"

Emma had forgotten about the Rally and had already agreed to watch her little brother for the day. She looked disappointed and was about to say she couldn't come when Rikki, seeming to read her mind, offered, "I can watch Elliot if you want to go to the Rally. I know it's really important to you."

"No, that's fine," she replied. "I can't ask you to do that."

"You're not asking, Emma. I'm offering. Just go and clean the beach or whatever," Rikki said.

Emma had a troubled look in her eyes. Why did Rikki care if she went to the rally? Emma even remembered a time when Rikki said she hated kids. Does she really care about her that much? Her mind was everywhere, not knowing if she even wanted the answers to any of her questions. What would it mean if Rikki wasn't just doing her least favorite thing in the world to be nice? What if it was something more? Emma was scared to find out, her own feelings still unclear.

Emma's eyes landed on Byron with his perfect abs and curly blonde hair, remembering her past crush on him. He was so perfect and would be so good for her if only she could stop wasting so many of her thoughts on Rikki and how she felt about her. Nothing could ever happen with Rikki and she knew that.

Emma smiled and nodded her head. "You're right, I'll go," she told Rikki. "Thank you."

For a split second, the girls looked at each other in the same way they had a few days ago at the sleepover. However, Emma stopped another moment from happening by abruptly standing up to tell Elliot that Rikki would watch him until she was back from the rally with Byron.

—

Rikki found that Elliot was just as ego-filled as she imagined every eleven year old boy to be.

"Did you know I'm going to be a pro surfer?" he asked the girl once Emma and Byron had set off for the rally.

"Don't you have to actually surf to be a pro surfer?"

"Fine, watch!" the boy told her as he picked up his board and ran to the edge of the water.

Rikki immediately panicked. "Elliot! I was joking, please don't go in the water!" she yelled as he entered the water and started paddling out. She knew he hadn't surfed before because this was his first lesson. It was dangerous for him to go in the water without proper training and she didn't wanna have to be the one to rescue him because of the tail she would grow if water were to touch her skin.

"Come back here! I mean it Elliot, I'll leave you!

Just then, a big wave crashed upon Elliot and he went barreling into the water from atop his surfboard. Rikki looked around for help but no one was very near. His head came up above the surface but the water was rough and he was too far out. He went back under with a cry for help and Rikki finally dashed into the water seeing no other option.

With the help of her tail, she had very quickly grabbed his board and reached Elliot. He was coughing and gasping for air as he grabbed hold of the board amidst the brutal waves.

"How did you do that?" he asked the girl in astonishment at her fast swimming.

She told him to shut up and hold on tight and then went back under the water to push the board to shore. She sent him in on a small wave which he rode on his stomach. She turned around and swam into the deep of the ocean before he or anyone else saw what she had in place of her legs.

—

Rikki rung the doorbell to the Gilbert residence later that day and Elliot answered it.

"Rikki! Where did you go after you saved me?" he asked. "It was like you just... disappeared."

"I guess I'm just good at holding my breath," she said.

They walked further into the house and when Mrs. and Mr. Gilbert saw Rikki, they praised her for saving their son. Rikki shifted her weight, denying their claims that she "saved" Elliot. Then they praised her for her modesty which made her even more uncomfortable. Emma was also there but she looked anything but happy.

"Rikki, can I talk to you in private for a second?" Emma asked.

She led Rikki to her room, shutting the door behind them.

After a few seconds of silence, Emma asked, "Are you aware how stupid what you did was?"

Rikki sighed, "He didn't see my tail, Emma. It's fine–"

"It's not fine!" she interjected.

Rikki flinched at Emma's anger. She didn't understand why this was such a big deal. Yes, she went in the water around a bunch of people and risked their secret getting out, but she also saved Elliot from drowning. That's what led Rikki to believe that Emma wasn't just mad about her going in the water around other people, there had to be something else she wasn't saying.

"Elliot could have seen you or someone on the beach could have. We have no idea what would happen if the secret got out!"

"I know, I know. I'm sorry," Rikki said. She hesitated for a moment, looking down at the carpet in Emma's room before, in a quiet voice, she asked, "Did I do something else to make you angry?"

Emma looked away from the girl, her anger seeming to dissolve into something else. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, there's no way you're this furious about me saving Elliot on the beach, so what is it? Did I do something else to make you upset?" she repeated.

Emma looked back at the girl with regretful eyes. "You're right–not that you did something–just that I was already upset. I think I'm just going through something right now," she admitted. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you or anything."

Rikki looked up in thought. "Did you want to, like," she paused, "talk about it?"

"I can't," Emma said with a long, sorrowful sigh.

—

Rikki stayed at Emma's house for dinner, enjoying a home cooked meal which she rarely got. Emma was quiet and in thought while they ate the grilled chicken and vegetable dish her mum had cooked. She had told Rikki she was "going through something" and she hoped her friend hadn't a clue that the something was really her confusing feelings for Rikki. She didn't want to like Rikki but the feelings sprang up quickly and refused to go down. She wished she had normal, friendly feelings for the girl instead of whatever this was.

She had fun at the Clean up the Beach Rally with Byron. They were both so passionate about pollution and that was a reason she liked him before. She finally got a chance to forget about Rikki and think about someone else for the first time in a while. She wasn't sure she still liked Byron but she was willing to try if it meant ending her feelings for Rikki.

She would just have to try really hard.

Authors Note: hey guys, I hope you liked this chapter! I'm so invested in this story already and I'm so excited for where it's going. I think it'll be a sort of slow burn romance so hopefully you like that kind of thing. I haven't gotten any likes on any chapters yet but it's only motivation to do better!!!!!!! Next chapter is one of my favorites so far but I'm still editing so it'll be out tomorrow at around this time. Also, Happy New Years! I had to go back to school today after being on winter break so hopefully that doesn't stop me from writing. There's also a lot of testing right now and then I have finals for this semester and then PSAT's so chapters might start coming slower. LMAO SORRY THIS IS SO LONG BYEEEEEEE <3