𝐈'𝐋𝐋 𝐁𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐃 || 𝐙𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐭

Chapter 21 - Not Giving In, Not Giving Up

Tiny bubbles rose up around me as I glided through the water, coral and various fish surrounding me on either side. I grinned as I took it all in, never getting sick of the thrill of it. A few minutes later, I reached the moon pool and my head popped up out of the water. But the faces I was greeted with looked less than friendly in this instance. Emma wore a look of barely controlled anger, Rikki one of indifference, and Cleo just looked timid and confused.

"So what is it?" I asked the three of them nonchalantly.

"We know about you and Zane. We saw you at the movies," Emma told me in a clipped tone.

My eyebrows rose in surprise, "That's what you dragged me all the way out here for? Just to tell me that?"

"It's no use trying to deny it," Rikki pointed out, nodding slightly towards Emma.

"I'm not denying it! I was gonna tell you once I thought you were mature enough to handle it," I shrugged, feeling a bit like I was under a microscope.

"Friends don't keep secrets like that from one another, Lee," Cleo piped up quietly, seeming hurt.

"Well, this friend does," I bit back, softening my tone a little as I continued, "I don't see what all the fuss is about,"

Cleo made a face in response, "He's practically hunting us, Leona,"

"Actually, it's you he's hunting," Emma cut in harshly, "You're the idiot who keeps saving him,"

Ouch. That stung. Especially coming from her. My eyes hardened at the accusation but I shook it off.

"You're underestimating Zane. The obnoxious stuff is an act...most of the time," I shrugged, my arms leaning on the ledge of the moon pool as the girls towered over me from the ground.

"Zane's going to keep looking for his mermaid. You going out with him is going to bring him closer to us," she snapped, "Please, Leona, we've all got to make sacrifices. It's too dangerous for you to keep seeing Zane,"

"I don't interfere in your lives, so stay out of mine!" I seethed, never before having been so mad at them.

Emma just shook her head in response while Cleo and Rikki stayed silent.

"It's up to you to make a decision," she bit out.

"Between you three and Zane? Don't make me do this," I said in disbelief, shaking my head.

"We're your friends and you need to make a choice,"

I felt the blood boiling in my veins as I glanced up at Emma before pushing myself off the ledge.

"Friends don't give each other ultimatums!" I shot back before dipping down into the water.

It didn't take long for me to get back to the beach and once I did, after drying off first, of course to lose the tail, I sat down on the hill, feeling tears prick my eyes. I was about to lose some of the people I was closest to - and it was my own fault. All of it. Suddenly, and before I could even react, a large red box was shoved in my lap.

"Happy birthday," Zane said, grinning as he sat down beside me.

"It's not my birthday-" I began to protest when he cut me off.

"Don't argue, it's a present," he grinned.

Rolling my dark brown eyes playfully, I lifted off the lid and my eyes went wide as I slipped the gift out of the box, holding it up.

"You bought me a dress?" I gaped in shock before grinning like a child on Christmas morning as I ran a hand over the soft, bright red material, "Are you crazy?"

I'd never had anything like this before in my life!

"Do you still want it?" he asked innocently, teasing me.

"Of course I want it! I love it!" I smiled, admiring it lovingly before leaning in to wrap him in a side-hug, "Thank you!"

"So do you...think you're in the mood to wear it right now?"

I looked up at him in confusion but still with a bright smile plastered to my face. Less than an hour later, I found myself walking down the steps of his house hand-in-hand to a dinner party. What I didn't know was that Emma and her family would be there as well, her glaring at me from across the table. That is, until Zane's dad began talking about building a resort on Mako.

"I'm going to take a rock and turn it into a holiday destination," his dad boasted to the other businessmen.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea," Zane suddenly spoke up, making all eyes turn to him, "You haven't seen what I've seen out there. I know it's gonna sound a bit out there but it's true, I swear,"

He glanced over at me briefly with lips parted, flicking his tongue to the side of his mouth as was his habit.

"I've seen a mermaid. I think she lives somewhere near Mako Island. You can't develop it,"

"Dad, is there really a mermaid?" one of the businessmen's daughters spoke up.

"Don't believe a word he says, Emily. I always bring my son along for a bit of comic relief. Zane, why don't you tell everybody about the faeries you saw at the bottom of the garden?" his dad mocked mercilessly.

I gritted my teeth, my anger like a poison inside of me - taking over completely. Wordlessly, I grabbed his hand and intertwined our fingers, squeezing softly to assure him I wasn't against him here.