The Sweet Lullaby : a Watersong Fanfic

Awakening - Ch. One

Warning - This is purely a work of a fan. In no ways am I trying to copy or re-create the book, without the Author's permission. I'm just a crazy-fan, that fell in-love with the series. I am only adding a plot that is my own, and some new characters (OC). I love Amanda Hocking, and this is only my view, or my opinion, of how things should have been. Well, hope you enjoy reading, "Swaying to a Lullaby: A Watersong fanfiction".

Gemma woke up in a cold sweat despite the heat. The glass door to the balcony was open, allowing the wind to blow in, billowing out the curtains and filling the room with the sweat scent of the ocean.

The unfamiliarity of the room only added to her panic, and she sat up quickly, her heart racing. She was gasping, breathing in the salty air in heavy gulps, and that helped a bit. Her head still pounded, and the watersong rang in her ears.

That was the worst part. Everything about the last few days was horrible, but the water song made it impossible to think let alone rest. It haunted her dreams, keeping her awake in the night, and made it so she couldn't even feel comfortable in her own skin.

She wanted to crawl right out of her body, but she couldn't. She was trapped in it, trapped with that incessant music and those awful girls in this colorless- bleached house.

That was the best way to describe the beach house- Colorless, bleached of any color.

Penn had picked it out, choosing the most luxurious property that she could find on the ocean. Even Gemma had to admit that it was nice, very high- class and expensive, but it had to be the whitest place she'd ever seen.

The room she stayed in- the one that Penn had informed her would be "her" room- was entirely white. Not eggshell or ivory or off-white but pure, startling white. The walls, the curtains, the bedding. Even the artwork on the walls had a white frame, surrounding some kind of abstract painting in swirling shades of white and gray.

And the rest of the house was more of the same. What little color did manage to seep into the house was always pale gray or the occasional muted blue. It was almost unbearably pristine.

Gemma didn't know how anyone could live like this, but the home owner wasn't very helpful by way of answers. Not that Gemma had tried talking to him all that much. Penn and the other sirens had cast their spell on him, turning him into a mindless thrall, and Gemma didn't really have any urge to interact with that.

Even though Sawyer looked amazingly hot.

Besides, her mind was preoccupied. Not only did she have that awful water song gnawing at her constantly, she felt like hell. It was like the worst flu she'd ever had. Her entire body ached, from her bones to her skin. Nausea would sweep over her in awful waves, and it was all she could do to keep from throwing up.

"I take it you didn't sleep well," Thea said, seeming to magically appear in the door way to Gemma's room. Her red hair hung loose around her face, blowing back in the breeze like she was the star of a music video.

"I slept fine," Gemma lied. She threw off her blankets, which were drenched in sweat, and climbed out of bed.

Thea snorted. "I can tell. "

Gemma went over to her dresser- also white- and rummaged through the drawers for fresh clothes. She'd taken very few outfits with her when she left home, but Lexi had given her plenty of hand-me- downs.

The only thing she'd taken with her that really meant anything was a picture from home. It was of her, Harper, and their mom, taken shortly before the accident, when their mom still lived at home. That picture- her one true possession- she kept Ina drawer,buried beneath her new clothes. She'd left it in the frame, hoping that would protect it when she carried it in her book bag through the ocean, and it had, some, but the picture was all warped and wrinkled.

As she pulled out her clothes, she looked at it for a second, missing a family she knew she' probably never see again, then hurried to cover it back up with the clean panties and slammed the drawer shut.

"Did you want something?" Gemma asked. "Because I need to get changed. "

"So change,"Thea said, and didn't move from her spot in the doorway.

"Can I get a little privacy?" Gemma asked still nervous around her.

Thea rolled her eyes. "You need to get over it. We're all girls here. "

"Isn't Sawyer running around?" Gemma asked mildly intrigued.

"He's somewhere," Thea admitted, and looked away. She didn't leave the room, exactly, but turned her back to Gemma.

"I think Penn gave him some kind of task before she left. "Gemma knew this was the best she could hope for, so she hurried to change into a clean dress and under wear.

"Penn left?" Gemma asked, not hiding the surprise in her own voice

"Yeah, Penn and Lexi went shopping," Thea explained.

"New house, new clothes. That's their motto. "

"Why didn't you go with them?" Gemma asked.

"I had to stay and baby sit you and Sawyer. " Thea glanced over her shoulder, and when she saw that Gemma was dressed, she turned back around.

"I don't need a babysitter," Gemma said.

"Yeah, you do," Thea said flatly. "You look like shit. "

"Thanks," Gemma muttered.

She brushed past Thea and walked down the hall to the bathroom. Thea followed her, but Gemma hadn't expected any different. When she looked in the mirror above the vanity, Gemma realized that Thea hadn't completely told the truth. While Gemma did look worse than she had the day before, an even worse than she had the day before that, she was still remarkably beautiful.

Her brown hair had golden highlights and soft waves, and even though she'd just woken up from a fitful sleep, it actually looked pretty good. She'd always been pretty, but since turning into a siren, she'd become radiantly gorgeous. And that stirred something within her.

Gemma didn't really feel like she belonged anywhere besides the swim team. But Penn gave her a shot at being something else that was worth something. This is what caused Gemma to really think as she stared at Thea through the mirror. Could she give them a shot? A chance that maybe being a siren isn't all bad?