Dangerous Waters

Chapter 10

*One week later*

Rita poked her head into the girls room. "You ladies all packed?" The three nodded, and Cleo appeared behind Rita. "I don't see why we can't just swim," Lyla pointed out as she slung her backpack over her shoulder. "Because," Rita grabbed two of the suitcases as Cleo grabbed the other, "we have to seem semi normal, so we're flying." Lyla rolled her eyes and grumbled behind her "Aunt" as the troupe of girls headed downstairs to pack their luggage in Rita's car.

"Look, I've never flown before either, but it can't be that bad, there's no reason to be scared. Right, Cleo?" The woman looked up from her phone and nodded. "It's a little different then what you're used to, but it's not bad at all," she smiled, "I quite enjoy flying, it's a nice break from normal life. And, you get free drinks and snacks!" Rita shut the trunk forcefully over the luggage.

"Sign me up then! Free food? You can never go wring with free food, I mean, come on!" Nixie laughed and hugged Cam, who had just walked over with Zac and Evie. "You guys ready? Everybody say goodbye to Evie, we need to get going." Zac kissed Evie on the forehead, and the rest of the group hugged her and said their goodbyes. "I'm glad Rita's going with you guys!! Be safe!!" Evie called out as they drove away. 

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"It's not MY fault you chose to sit by him!" Nixie exclaimed to a very annoyed Lyla. Cam smirked an put his arm around Nixie's shoulder, who shrugged away from him. "Don't touch me. If you're going to be a jerk, I don't want to be a part of it." "So you mean, his entire reason for existence?" Lyla scoffed. Nixie raised an eyebrow. "We haven't even boarded the plane yet, and you're already fighting?" She shook her head and went to the the nearest store in the airport. Serena looked between Cam and Lyla, who were glaring at each other.

She shrugged and sat down next to Cleo, who was dozing off until they had to board the plane. She pulled out her phone and texted Evie. 

~Thanks for letting me borrow your headphones for the trip! -Serena <3 12:30 p.m.~

She locked her phone and fished the headphones out of her bag, plugging them into Zac's iPod and surfing through his music to find something decent to listen to. Her phone buzzed in her lap, and she unlocked it to check her messages.

~Those old things? No problem. I have like three pairs, and I know how you are with music. So, update? Have Lyla and Cam ripped each other's throats out yet? -Evie :P 12;32 p.m.~

Serena smiled and looked up to see Lyla talking to Rita and Zac, and Cam and Nixie getting drinks at the coffee shop around the corner before answering.

~Not yet :) But they're getting there... Text you when we board :) -Serena <3 12:33 p.m.~

She laid her head back and closed her eyes, trying to follow Cleo's example and get a few  minutes of rest before boarding. She finally dozed off to the soothing voice of Avicii.

'Hey brother, do you still believe in one another?                                                                                                                    Hey sister, do you still believe in love I wonder?                                                                                                                 Oh if the sky comes falling down, theres nothing in this world I wouldn't do........'

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*30 minutes later*

Zac took the offered coffee and smiled. "Thanks, man! How much was it?" He asked Cam as he pulled out his wallet to fetch the money. "Don't worry about it," Cam said, taking a drink of his own coffee as he put his bag of food and drink in his backpack. "Oh, ok. Thanks man, I owe you one." Cam shrugged and leaned back in his seat. "When do we board?" he asked impatiently. "Should be in about 20 minutes," Rita said, "maybe someone should wake up Cleo and Serena."

The looked over at the two women, and Zac stood up and set his coffee down. "I got it," he walked over. "Hey Serena, it's almost time to board, wake up," he said, giving her a little shake. "Serena?" He saw the headphones in her ears and took them out gently, and she bolted up in her seat. "What??" He laughed. "Sorry, I was trying to wake you up, it's almost boarding time." "Oh, ok," she laughed and helped him wake up Cleo, and they all headed for the boarding area to wait.

"Remember, we're all in Rows 34 and 35 A-C, except me. I'm in 36C. I know your tickets have specific seat numbers on them, but you can mingle among yourselves." The group nodded, except for Cleo, who who listening to her own music and ignoring everybody. "Cleo," Rita tapped her on the shoulder, "Cleo, did you her what I said?" Cleo looked at Rita and sighed. "Yes, principal Santos, I heard you. I'm an adult you know, and I've flown before." Rita narrowed her eyes at the young girl as they called for their rows to board. "What happened to you Cleo? You've changed." Cleo's eyes widened as she boarded.

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"You  know, you'd ex-expect the epic home of merpeople and Atlantis to be a little wa-wa-warmer." Cam said with a shiver. "Ge used to the cold guys, it's not changing, and it'll take much longer than what you'll actually be here for your bodies to acclimate, so it won't be comfortable." Cleo said, handing them all coats from the lab vehicle that was there to pick them up from the airport. "You, know, a warning would have been nice," Lyla pouted. "No attitude would be nice, but it looks like that's not happening either." Cleo retorted, and Rita widened her eyes. Cleo saw the look of surprise and softened.

"Look, sorry guys, I haven't been away from my husband for this long in a while, and it's making me moody. Let's get moving so she can all get our blood pumping." The group got in the vehicle and buckled up. "How far is the lab from here?" Zac asked. "It's about a 20 minute drive," Cleo replied from the front seat, "normally I'd say enjoy the scenery, but," she gestured at the windowless cabi with a laugh. "Yeah, very funny," Nixie said, "Ha. Ha. You know, you should really cut out the sarcasm, that's my job..." They all laughed as they began their journey to the lab.

A/N: Hey guys! It's Nessa :) Thanks for sticking with me, and I encourage you to go read my other stories!! Thanks! Love you all!