H2O: Just Add A Merman

The Aftermath

My eyes shot open. Everything around me was spinning. As the spinning subsided, I figured out that I was in my house lying on the couch. I took a glance out the window. It looked like it was still early in the morning. I slowly sat up and took in my surroundings. My thoughts drifted back to last night. The thing was I couldn't remember the most of it. The last thing I could recall was when Kaylie and Carrie came into my room. The rest of the night was a blank. Suddenly, Rikki walked into the room and sat on the couch next to me. "Rikki, what happened last night?" I asked. "Please don't tell me that I became moonstruck."

"Well... Rikki trailed off. "You kinda did become moonstruck and you caused a wild storm to happen. Not to mention that when we tried to stop you, you attacked us."

I sighed and placed my head in my hands. "Did I hurt anyone?"

"About that..."

Suddenly, a scream echoed through my mind and I immediately recognized it. "Lauren!" I said as I shot up to my feet. I turned to Rikki. "Where is she?"

"She's sleeping in your room."

That was all it took for me to sprint up my steps and run into my room. As I entered, I saw Lauren sleeping with a tense expression. I then saw that her forearm was bandaged up. I knelt beside the bed so that our heads were at the same level. When I looked at her face, I saw that a single tear rolled down her cheek. I moved my hand up to her face and gently wiped it away. As soon as I did that, a small smile appeared on her face. Not long after, Lauren's eyes slowly fluttered open. She turned and looked at me. "Hey," she whispered.

"Hey," whispered back. "Listen Lauren, I'm so deeply sorry that I hurt you. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Will," she said. "You were moonstruck last night. It wasn't your fault. There's no need to apologize."

"I just feel so horrible," I frowned.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Lauren said as she winced at the pain in her arm.

"You're not fine," I said. "And it's all my fault."

"Sshh," Lauren said as she placed her hand on my face. "What happened last night wasn't you, it was the full moon. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." She then smiled at me. Suddenly, her face turned to one of shock. "Oh my god Will!" she exclaimed. "What happened to your eye?"

I ran my hand across my left eye and felt a gash. "What happened?" I asked myself.

"That was my fault," a new voice came from the bedroom door. Rikki was leaning against the frame with a guilty expression on her face. "You kinda threw your trident at us and I sort of ah..." she hesitated. "Threw it back."

"I guess I kinda deserved that," I shrugged.

"I don't like the sad mood," Rikki said. "Why don't we all go to the JuiceNet, I'll tell the rest of the gang to meet us there."

"I'd like that," Lauren said as she started to climb out of my bed.

"Me too," I agreed. "By the way, where are my parents? Surely, they wondered where Lauren's burns came from."

Just then, Kaylie stepped into the room. "Well, lucky for you guys, they were asleep when you got back. And now they are out shopping, so they don't suspect a thing."

"Wow," I said. "That works perfectly. Hey, before we go, don't you want to call your parents Lauren and tell them where you are?"

"I already took care of that," Rikki said. "I told them that you and I spent the night at Cleo's house. I don't think they would've been comfortable knowing that you slept here," Rikki smirked.