𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃: h2o - just add water
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IT HAD BEEN A FEW WEEKS SINCE THE EVENTS THAT HAD HAPPENED REGARDING MISS CHATHAM AS WELL AS THE CONVERSATION ALEXA HAD WITH HER DAD. emma had informed the three girls of what had happened with miss chatham, how her mum found a retirement village so that miss chatham wouldn't have to stay at the gilbert household any longer. it also included how emma saved zane from drowning since he went after miss chatham who took the lorelei and attempted to run away from it.
in the process of saving zane from drowning, emma was able to find the 'treasure' that miss chatham referred to that people were trying to take from her. it turned out to be a silver oval locket which was an exact replica that cleo wore around her neck but the only difference was that miss chatham's silver oval locket held a black and white photo inside of herself, julia and gracie in mermaid form.
whilst zane may be an obnoxious boy that held specific views on certain topics, that didn't mean that he deserved to go through a near death experience. alexa was immensely proud of emma for putting aside her views on zane and chose to become the bigger person by saving him from drowning.
since emma had planned to arrive at the juicenet cafe early to buy herself a drink, alexa, cleo and rikki decided to meet up outside of the sertori household and walk to the juicenet cafe. before they could enter the juicenet cafe, alexa noticed zane and lewis conversing with one another before they both walked away.
"what do you think that is?" cleo asked the two girls with her arms folded, referring to zane and lewis who were walking away from the juicenet cafe, completely unaware of the three pairs of eyes that were on them.
"nothing good." rikki responded to the sertori's question.
alexa reasoned with her two friends, "i'm sure that lewis has a reasonable explanation for what we have just witnessed. we just need to have trust in him." lewis had proven time and time again that he was capable of keeping the mermaid secret to himself, he had protected the four girls on many occasions so alexa saw no need to doubt him.
before either of the three girls could further dwell on what they had just witnessed, emma had walked out of the juicenet cafe and grabbed cleo from behind by the shoulders, "hey! there she is." she smiled brightly at the sertori as she led her to a table that was set outside of the juicenet cafe, "last day as a fifteen year old. let's celebrate."
emma's words left alexa and rikki speechless. neither of them knew that cleo's birthday was tomorrow and the fact that cleo hadn't told either of them about it made them feel hurt especially since they had found out through emma.
with her arms crossed to her chest, cleo began, "em, it's really not necess—"
the brunette sertori was cut off by rikki, "it's your birthday?" she questioned, "why didn't you say anything?"
"you could've said something, cleo. i feel bad that i didn't get you anything for your birthday." alexa added with a hurt look on her face as herself, cleo and rikki made their way to sit down on a table that was set outside of the juicenet cafe.
meanwhile, emma walked over to set up table that wilfred was currently stood behind, "wilfred, wheat grass smoothies all round, please." she said to wilfred before she took a seat at the table in between cleo and alexa.
"coming right up." wilfred replied as he began working on the wheat grass smoothies for the four girls.
"thanks wilfred." alexa thanked the man with a grateful smile plastered on her face
emma addressed the brunette sertori, "and you know what the best part is, i can come to your party this year."
cleo shrugged her shoulders, "well there's not gonna be a—" she began.
but the brunette sertori was cut off by rikki who questioned the gilbert curiously, "what's been stopping you?"
emma explained, "the past few years i've had a swimming competition but this year i'm ready to party."
"great. can we please change the subject now?" cleo questioned the three girls in a tired tone. she was tired of everyone making an enormous deal over her birthday when she didn't feel like celebrating this year.
alexa had remained silent throughout the conversation. she had been listening to the conversation but her attention was focused on cleo's facial expressions when emma was discussing cleo's annual birthday party. her facial expressions varied from annoyance to frustration. the further that emma went on about cleo's annual birthday party to alexa and rikki only continued to fuel the frustration inside of cleo.
alexa reached her hand out to grab cleo's so that she could give it a comforting squeeze. cleo sent the rooney a small yet thankful smile as she squeezed alexa's hand in return.
alexa was about to pull her hand back but cleo held it firmly between her two hands as a form of comfort. emma and rikki may had not noticed cleo's frustration regarding the topic of her annual birthday parties that her dad hosted for her but she was grateful that alexa noticed the small things that others tended to ignore. cleo would thank the angels in the sky that she had been blessed with the gift which came from a one-of-a-kind girl called alexa rooney.
"cleo's dad throws the best parties. he does the works. jumping castles, clowns, ponies. of course, we were just kids." emma told alexa and rikki who had never been to one of cleo's birthday parties.
"what a guy." rikki commented, referring to don. he truly went above and beyond for his daughter's birthday and it truly showed how much love he had for cleo.
"i wish my dad went all out on my birthday. your dad just—" emma began.
but before emma could continue speaking, she had been cut off by a frustrated cleo, "look, there's not gonna be a party this year, so can we please just drop it?" she pleaded desperately to rikki and emma. she squeezed alexa's hand with a grateful smile on her face as the rooney was the only one who noticed that she was uncomfortable about the topic of her birthday parties being discussed before she abruptly stood up from her seat and walked off.
the three girls watched as cleo's retreating figure became a figure in the distance.
"what do you think is the matter with her?" emma questioned the two girls, completely unaware of the upset look that had appeared on cleo's face at the mention of her annual birthday party that her dad would throw for her.
before alexa could reply to the gilbert's question, rikki had spoken up instead and unintentionally stopping the rooney from what she was about to say, "i don't know. you mention her birthday party and she snaps."
now that rikki had finished speaking, it meant that alexa could finally explain to the two blondes why cleo was acting the way she was but the sound of emma's phone ringing filled the atmosphere which put a halt to the conversation which caused alexa to internally roll her eyes to herself.
emma held the phone to her ear and greeted the person over the phone, "hello?" a moment flew by before her lips twitched to a bright smile, "oh, hi, mr sertori. yep." she nodded her head with a wide smile on her face, "cool. ok. don't tell her? see you then." she ended the call.
the gilbert then turned her attention to alexa and rikki, "see? that explains it." she informed the two girls, "that was cleo's dad. they are throwing a party for her. that must be why she's so down. she probably thinks they've forgotten."
emma had completely misinterpreted cleo's frustration regarding her annual birthday party as sadness that her family had forgotten her birthday. alexa attempted to reason with the gilbert, "em, don't you think that if cleo was upset that her family forgot to throw her annual birthday party that they wouldn't mentioned it to us. cleo could be upset about something else but she was too scared to mention it."
emma waved off the rooney's worries, "don't worry about it, lex. i've known cleo for a very long time. she is definitely just upset that her family forgot about her birthday."
alexa wanted to tell emma that she was wrong, that cleo was not upset about her family forgetting about her birthday but that she was frustrated that emma and rikki constantly cut her off from saying what she wanted to say. the sertori's frustration only grew the more that emma and rikki chatted about cleo's annual birthday party which set cleo's fury in motion.
however, alexa remained quiet. she pursed her lips and nodded her head. it would be emma's fault for not believing alexa's words. if only emma had listened to alexa.
"ok, so do we tell her?" rikki questioned the gilbert. neither the chadwick or alexa had ever been to cleo's annual birthday parties that don would host so rikki had asked emma since she had known her the longest out of the three girls.
emma lightly shook her head, "no way." a smile grew on her face which rikki mirrored.
meanwhile, alexa played with her 'a' rose gold heart shaped locket that was around her neck. she just hoped that everything would go well.
but she should know that nothing good lasts forever for the four mermaids because there was only so much luck they could have in the world.
👑
LEWIS
for now, lex, i need you to remain out of the ocean. zane will be looking through the ocean for what he refers as a 'sea monster' who saved him from a couple of weeks ago.
ALEXA FURROWED HER EYEBROWS IN CONCERN WHEN SHE READ THE MESSAGE THAT LEWIS HAD SENT HER. she had been informed by emma that she was the one who saved zane from drowning whilst also getting miss chatham's 'treasure' which turned out to be an exact replica of cleo's silver oval locket.
alexa should've known that zane wouldn't let the 'sea monster' excuse get to him. he would go to the ends of the earth to find solid evidence that the 'sea monster' was real which meant that herself and her three friends were in danger of being exposed.
it seemed as if everyone at the gold coast was out to hunt down alexa and her friends. there was dr denman, kim, elliot and now zane. who could possibly be the next person to discover that mermaids exist? alexa hoped that she would never find out the answer for that question as she didn't want her loved ones to be in danger all because she wanted to live a normal human life.
if alexa hadn't left her duty as a princess to her kingdom just to live out her dream to live a normal human life, her friends would be living a normal human life without having to feel threatened that by the contact of water, they would expose their mermaid side.
but alexa couldn't change the past. and all she could now was do everything in her power to ensure that her friends, her people, her family and herself remained safe at all cost. every step forward was to be precise and must be planned thoroughly because right now, the four girls had to remain cautious of everything they did.
the message that lewis had sent alexa left her with many questions. before her mind could wander any further, her phone buzzed which indicated that she had a message. the rooney looked down at her phone to realise that lewis had sent another message.
LEWIS
i've told the girls about what happened and we're meeting up at emma's house to form a plan of action for what we can do to throw zane off our backs. cleo isn't joining us since she has some things to deal with.
alexa typed a response to the mccartney.
ALEXA
i'm on my way.
alex placed her phone in the pocket of her yellow midi skirt before she made her way to emma's house. on the way to the gilbert household, she couldn't help the thoughts that swarmed her mind. it seemed out of one's mind to think that it felt normal for the group to form a plan so that the mermaid secret wouldn't be exposed to the world.
perhaps from another perspective, it may had been sad that alexa and the three girls had to remain cautious of their every moment but deep down, they all knew that they wouldn't change anything for the world.
once alexa arrived at the gilbert household, she knocked on the front door. a moment later, the front door opened and alexa saw emma who had opened the door. the two girls shared a brief smile before emma moved away from the front door so that alexa could enter the gilbert household.
alexa had entered the kitchen to realise that lewis and rikki was already there. she politely smiled to the two before she opened a cupboard in the kitchen and placed the glass under the tap so that the glass would fill to the top with water. once the glass was full, she turned the tap off and made her way to sit by the kitchen counter as she placed the glass of water on the table.
shortly, emma had entered the kitchen with a drawing of a mermaid tail that lewis had given her, "oh no. my tail." she stated as she walked further into the kitchen and passed the drawing to rikki.
"see?" lewis expressed his frustration to the three girls. the group were once again in another situation where the mermaid secret was at risk of being exposed which shouldn't be a surprise to alexa considering that it had happened multiple times but she had hoped that it didn't happen so soon so the group could act like ordinary people, "that's why i hang around with you guys cause all the other girls at school are like, 'oh no, my makeup!'" he mocked.
rikki looked down at the drawing of emma's mermaid tail that zane had done, "well, this is a valuable lesson. next time zane's drowning, don't help." she commented as she walked over to pass the drawing to lewis. once she passed the drawing to lewis, she opened the cupboards in the kitchen and took out two juice bottles and two straws for herself and emma.
alexa sent the chadwick a warning look, "rikki." she scolded the blonde, "whilst zane may have committed some... questionable acts that annoy us to a significant extent, he is still human and he didn't deserve what he got." she attempted to reason with the chadwick.
"zane's trying to track down a sea monster which means that alexa can't be in the ocean whilst he's scouring the ocean." lewis told the three girls.
emma chimed in, "i spoke to my parents about whether alexa could stay over for a few nights. luckily, they said yes so hopefully, we can think of something to get zane off our backs so that alexa could go back in the ocean and that the mermaid secret is safe."
lewis continued, "not only is zane trying to track down the sea monster but he has offered me a job helping him."
"that you should take." rikki replied to the mccartney, unaware that she had just given him a brilliant idea.
lewis began, "that's interesting logic that..." he trailed off before he continued, "that.. could work."
"hang on, two steps back here." emma spoke up to gain the mccartney's attention with a hand on her hip as she had no clue how helping zane to finding this 'sea monster' which was the gilbert herself would benefit the four mermaids.
alexa began to connect the dots to lewis and rikki's plan in her head and she realised that the plan was a pretty good one. she began, "we all know that zane will stop at nothing to track you down because you saved him from his possible death. he will not be satisfied until he has found what he's looking for."
rikki nodded her head in agreement to the rooney's words. she pointed at lewis with a blue plastic straw in her hand, "and you know how not to find us."
realisation hit emma as she connected the dots to the plan that was slowly being formed in her head, "yeah, and lewis could steer zane away from any no-go zones, like mako island. this is good. keep your friends close. keep your enemies out in the middle of the ocean." her lips lifted upwards before she questioned the mccartney, "so when's he going?"
"tomorrow." lewis answered the gilbert's question.
rikki's mouth dropped wide open when she heard lewis' response, "you'll miss cleo's birthday." she pointed out to the mccartney.
what surprised alexa was the response that lewis uttered, "good. cleo hates her birthday parties. she's embarrassed by them."
"what?" emma exclaimed in shock, "why?" she questioned the mccartney. she couldn't believe what she was hearing. how could cleo possibly hate the birthday parties that her dad hosted for her? emma viewed the parties that don would host as a thoughtful thing to do but how could cleo feel embarrassed by her birthday parties? it didn't make sense to the gilbert.
"first of all, alexa and rikki have never been to one of cleo's birthday parties." lewis pointed out to the gilbert. he continued, "but em, how long has it been since you've been to one?"
emma shrugged her shoulders in response, "a few years ago."
lewis replied, "yeah, well, i've been to them all and believe me, she has good reason." he pressed zane's contact on his phone before he held the phone to his ear as he waited patiently for the bennett to answer. once zane answered the call, lewis began to speak, "zane, it's lewis. we're back on. let's go and find us a sea monster." he walked out of the kitchen and left the gilbert household as he and zane discussed a plan to capture the 'sea monster'.
once lewis was gone, alexa turned to address the gilbert. she sent emma a smug smile, "it appears i was right, em. the lesson for today is to always have faith in me." she took a sip of her water.
rather than giving a verbal response to the rooney, emma simply nodded her head with a sheepish smile on her face. she really should've believed alexa rooney.
👑
ONCE LEWIS HAD FORMED A PLAN WITH ZANE TO CATCH THE 'SEA MONSTER', IT MEANT THAT HIMSELF AND RIKKI COULD LEAVE THE GILBERT HOUSEHOLD AND RETURN TO THEIR ASSIGNED HOMES. since zane and lewis were planning on looking for the 'sea monster' early in the morning, this meant that alexa would have to stay the night at emma's house so that herself and the mermaid secret was safe.
before rikki left the gilbert household, the three girls had collectively agreed to be awake by 8am so that they could all greet cleo on her birthday over the phone.
since alexa was staying over at the gilbert household, emma's parents had set up a airbed in emma's bedroom with an extra blanket and pillows that they had around the house so that alexa could sleep peacefully for the night.
the next day, alexa had woken up to emma shaking her awake from her place on the airbed. the rooney squinted her eyes as her eyesight adjusted to the light in the room, "is it already time to greet cleo for her birthday?" she questioned the gilbert tiredly as she stretched her arms.
a wide awake emma shook her head in response, "it's 7:30am. i figured i'd wake you up early so you could refresh yourself before we all ring cleo and greet her on her birthday." she added, "she may hate her birthday parties but that doesn't mean that as her best friends, we shouldn't greet her on her birthday."
alexa rubbed the tiredness out of her eyes with her hands before she slowly stood up from her place on the airbed. she folded the blanket neatly before she laid the pillows nicely on the airbed.
she went into the bathroom and brushed her teeth thoroughly before she washed her face. once her face was washed, she completed her morning routine and used a brush to brush out any knots from her hair. she left her hair down in its usual beach waves before the left the bathroom and made her way back into emma's room.
emma sat by her vanity as she applied lip gloss to her lips. she placed her phone on the table and rang rikki first. whilst the phone was ringing, she made sure that the call was on speaker so that both herself and alexa could hear rikki. alexa picked up a beanbag from the corner of emma's room and moved it by the vanity so she could sit beside the gilbert.
a moment later, the chadwick answered the phone, "morning." she greeted in a chirpy tone, "are we ready to greet cleo on her birthday?"
emma nodded her head, "yeah we are. lex is here with me so we'll just add cleo to the call and then greet her on her birthday."
then, emma added cleo onto the call. a few moments later, the call was answered and the three girls heard a, "hello?" from cleo's end of the phone in a tired tone.
"happy..." emma and alexa began with a wide smile plastered on their faces.
alexa, rikki and emma stated simultaneously, "birthday, cleo!" they finished with an enthusiastic tone.
"happy sweet 16th, sleepyhead." emma told the brunette sertori with a joyful look on her face.
"thanks for reminding me." an exhausted cleo responded to the gilbert's words. all cleo wanted was to pretend as if today wasn't her birthday. it seemed like no one would respect her wishes on the matter but at least for now, there was no birthday party, or at least, that's what cleo was thinking.
alexa pointed out, "you only turn sixteen once, cleo."
whilst cleo was mad regarding the whole situation about her birthday, she knew deep down that alexa was right. it was well known that the 16th birthday party was supposed to be one of the most important milestones in someone's life where it would normally include a enormous party. but cleo didn't want that.
the sertori was mad at her friends. well, mainly, emma and rikki since they didn't know when to stop discussing her birthday parties that her father would host her. she was doing her best to also be mad at alexa since she didn't speak up to the two blondes when the sertori was showing signs of discomfort but it was as if she couldn't hate the rooney.
alexa had done so much for cleo and alexa had no clue of it. the rooney's presence, reassuring words and kind nature had kept cleo above water. without alexa, cleo felt like she was on the verge of drowning. alexa was her lifeline, the one that would hold her hand and ensure that the sertori did not drown. alexa was the fresh air that cleo breathed in.
all in all, cleo sertori adored alexa rooney.
cleo couldn't be mad at alexa. she had tried and tried but her attempts remained futile so rather than sending a bitter reply to alexa's words, she let out a sigh, "you have a point, lex."
"so what'd you get?" rikki questioned the brunette sertori in a cheery tone as she laid down on her bed.
cleo shook her head in response, even though the three girls couldn't see the head gesture, "nothing. but thanks for the thought." she added, "now, go away, please." she told the three girls before she abruptly ended the call.
once cleo left the call, rikki couldn't help but comment, "well, that went well." she stated before herself and emma both ended the call.
alexa stood up from her seat on the bean bag, "well, it seems it couldn't have gotten any worse than it did."
👑
ALEXA DID NOT WANT TO GO TO CLEO'S BIRTHDAY PARTY. she saw cleo's looks of frustration when emma and rikki discussed her birthday party and she didn't want to see the look of hurt on her face when cleo discovered that the three girls went against her wishes. alexa adored her brunette friend and she had finally gained confirmation from lewis regarding why she didn't like her birthday and she didn't want to further test cleo's emotions regarding her birthday.
she had ultimately decided that she would go to cleo's birthday party only to drop off her present and then she would leave. emma and rikki had remained persistent on going to cleo's birthday party but alexa stood for what she believed and she would never back down from her choices.
since she couldn't go in the ocean due to lewis keeping zane occupied with finding the 'sea monster', she would have to go to the juicenet cafe instead to keep herself occupied.
alexa had gotten herself ready in a rainbow flower print sundress with her hair styled in its usual beach waves with a headband that framed the front pieces of her hair.
in her grasp, she held a gift bag which held cleo's present. inside the gift bag was a silver charm bracelet for the brunette sertori which already had two charms on: the letter 'c' for her name and a mermaid tail.
alexa hoped that cleo liked it since she was unaware that her birthday was so soon that she had bought the charm bracelet last minute. she prayed to herself that cleo didn't hate her gift.
alexa and emma had gotten ready for cleo's birthday party at the gilbert household before they left the house and met up with rikki at the juicenet cafe before the three girls left the juicenet cafe and headed in the direction of the sertori household.
once the three girls arrived at the sertori household, they made their way through the house and into the backyard where cleo's birthday party was taking place.
there were multiple tables that were set out that was full off food and refreshments as well as multiple coloured balloons that were scattered around the backyard. kids were running around with joyful smiles plastered on their faces with party hats on their heads as they laughed with one another.
"this is just how i remember it from when we were kids." emma told rikki and alexa who was at the first birthday party for their brunette friend.
"unsettling, isn't it?" rikki questioned to herself, referring to the clown and horse that don had hired for cleo's birthday party as the three girls walked further into the backyard as they took in their surroundings of the set up for cleo's birthday party.
"this was definitely not what i expected." alexa stated truthfully to the two blondes as the three girls continued walking around the set-up of cleo's birthday party. the decorations and the acts that were hired didn't seem like it was fitted to cleo's liking. the brunette sertori would've preferred an intimate setting where only her family and close friends were invited, not a gigantic party full of people that cleo hardly knew with acts that did not fit cleo's style.
rikki nodded her head in agreement to the rooney's words but she had remained silent as she took in the scenery that was unfolding before her eyes. this was definitely not what she had thought that cleo's birthday party would look like. no wonder cleo hated her birthday parties.
"i rode my first pony at cleo's sixth birthday party." emma said to her two friends with a bittersweet smile on her face as she reminisced the past birthday parties that cleo had. the gilbert hadn't gone to all of cleo's birthday parties due to her commitments as a swimmer but it was a beautiful memory that she held onto from when she was younger and she'd cherish that memory forever.
"are we sure that this isn't cleo's sixth birthday?" rikki commented, referring to the clown and horse that was hired for the brunette sertori's birthday.
"rikki has a point." alexa chimed in, "this party doesn't have any of cleo's favourite things. it seems like she never had much of a choice as to what she wanted for her birthday this year."
as the three girls continued walking around the sertori's backyard, a young boy had hit rikki in the face with a red balloon which angered the blonde chadwick as she forcefully grabbed the string that held the red balloon and attempted to forcefully hit the balloon at the young boy.
but before rikki could do any harm to the young boy, alexa had snatched the balloon out of rikki's grasp whilst emma took hold of rikki's hand. the gilbert scolded the chadwick in a calm tone, "rikki. this is supposed to be a party."
alexa passed the red balloon back to the young boy. she smiled at him, "here's your balloon and make sure that doesn't happen again." she told him who nodded his head in agreement to the rooney's words before he ran off.
"i'm starting to see why cleo didn't wanna make such a big deal about this." rikki told emma and alexa. she had finally realised why cleo was frustrated with the topic of her birthday parties and she couldn't blame her, it looked like it was a party for a six year old.
emma lightly nodded her head in agreement, "yep. the only thing missing is cleo's dad in a cowboy suit swooping down and slapping a party hat on your head." she informed her two friends.
as if emma had predicted fate, don had announced his presence, "girls! glad you could make it." he placed a party hat on the three girls' heads.
alexa sent a polite smile to don, "of course, don. anything for cleo. but i'm afraid i'm only here to drop off her gift since i had made plans that cannot be cancelled. i had not realised that my plans had clashed with cleo's birthday. i didn't know that it was her birthday until it was too late." she let the lie roll off her tongue as she sent an apologetic smile to don.
"it's alright, alexa. i know that you mean well and my daughter truly cares for you." don replied to the rooney as he waved off her apology. he was glad that his eldest daughter had met alexa. she needed someone like alexa in her life and he was glad she had a friend like alexa. he placed his hands on his hips and spoke in a cowboy accent, "is my little girl gonna love this or what?"
"are you sure that balloon animals and a pony are appropriate?" emma asked don with a nervous smile on her face. she didn't want to come across as rude to her close friend's dad but she would have rather spoke up than let rikki speak as the blonde chadwick was most likely to state her opinion honestly without a care in the world.
"balloon animals are ageless. she'll love it. you wait till she comes downstairs, she'll be ecstatic." don told the three girls with an excited look on his face. emma had slowly nodded her head at don's words who then walked off and held finger guns at a young girl, "put 'em up, pal, and where's my horse?" he questioned the young girl as he made his way to the ball pit which caused the three girls to exchange an awkward smile at don's antics.
the three girls walked over to the table of presents where all of cleo's birthday presents laid. they each placed their presents on the table before don began to gather everyone together by the front of the backyard so they could surprise cleo.
alexa gave each of the two blondes a hug, "i'll see you guys soon."
"bye lex." rikki and emma stated simultaneously as they waved goodbye to the rooney who left the backyard of the sertori household.
👑
IT SEEMED LIKE ALEXA'S PLANS TO RELAX IN THE JUICENET CAFE HAD TO BE PUT ON PAUSE AS SHE HAD BEEN INFORMED BY EMMA THAT CLEO HAD RAN OFF AFTER SHE DISCOVERED THAT HER DAD HOSTED A BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR HER. so whilst emma and rikki stayed at the birthday party and explained to don about where cleo went, alexa would look around the gold coast for cleo.
emma had told alexa that she said to don that cleo left something at her house which explained her disappearance to don without hurting his feelings that the actual reason why cleo vanished was because she didn't want a birthday party. hopefully, it would give alexa enough time to find cleo in time before don went suspicious on the whereabouts of his eldest daughter.
alexa had looked around the juicenet cafe, the secluded part of the beach where the four girls would usually leave their stuff when they went for a swim in their mermaid forms. she even checked the marine park where cleo would work only to discover that the brunette sertori was nowhere to be found.
alexa decided to sit on a bench that overlooked the view of the beach as she looked down at her phone. she pressed down on cleo's contact and began to type a message to the brunette sertori.
CLEO
ALEXA
hello cleo. for what its worth, regarding your birthday party, i'm sorry about the way things turned out. i may have not been there but i'm sorry that i couldn't do anything about it for your sake.
alexa noticed that cleo was typing a response back but within a blink of an eye, the three dots that indicated that cleo was typing a response had vanished. the rooney let out a sigh of defeat before she turned off her phone and held it in her hands.
the rooney was shortly snapped out of her thoughts when she realised that someone had sat down beside her on the bench. alarm bells rang in her head as she looked up from her place on the bench only to realise that it was niall which caused alexa to stiffen in her place. she hadn't interacted with him for a few weeks after the henderson had fallen under the siren call when cleo was under the influence of the full moon.
she had been avoiding him because she didn't want him to be at risk of any danger from the four mermaids. she was protecting him from herself and her three friends because the last thing she needed to worry about was niall being in danger.
her name was alexa and her name essentially meant 'defender of man' and she would happily live up to her name if it meant that niall was safe from harm's way.
rather than looking at the rooney, niall decided to look at the view of the beach from his place beside alexa, "haven't seen you in a while speedy. it's like as if you're avoiding me."
alexa was lucky that niall's eyes were focused on the view of the beach which meant that he wouldn't be aware of her nerves swarming in her stomach, "yeah. i've just been really busy." she lied.
niall couldn't exactly tell if what alexa was saying was true. either way, he shrugged his shoulders in response, "what have you been up to, speedy?"
alexa clasped her hands tightly together so that her hand wouldn't go to her 'a' rose gold heart shaped locket which she would usually do when she was nervous. she didn't want to give anything away to niall, "i've just been buried in school work and spending time with the girls."
niall curtly nodded his head in agreement, "seems like you're too busy for me—" he showed off his muscular figure, "— which is hard for me to believe." he smiled smugly.
alexa rolled her eyes at the henderson's antics, "well, maybe you should get your eyes tested because you must be blind if it's hard for you to tell that i'm not interested." she stated in a sassy tone. it was clear that alexa had spent a lot of time around rikki that she was speaking sarcastically whenever it was necessary.
the moment that niall joined south coast high school, he had all the girls falling at his feet. maybe it was his muscular figure or that he was a football player or that his best friend was the surfer, byron. but he could bat an eyelash or send a charming smile to any girl and they would instantly do whatever he wanted.
but alexa wasn't like that. she had resisted all of his charms the moment that he had arrived at the gold coast. and it frustrated him so much. niall had attended many high schools around the world before he had arrived at south coast high school and all the girls were the exact same. they would smile dreamily or twirl a piece of their hair with their finger or they couldn't form a sentence in front of him without running away and squealing.
alexa was a challenge. and niall was enjoying this challenge that came in the form of alexa rooney.
"you are a true mystery, speedy." niall told the rooney as he turned to his left to face the rooney. this was the first time that he had seen alexa after the past few weeks that had flown by. he wouldn't admit it out loud but he missed her company. he took in the rainbow flower print sundress that she wore as well as her brown wavy hair that had a headband placed in the middle of her hair that framed the front pieces of her hair.
"and why is that, niall?" alexa questioned the henderson with her eyebrow raised.
niall replied honestly, "you're here and then you vanish for a few weeks and then you appear as if nothing had happened."
but it wasn't that nothing had happened. loads had happened since the last time that alexa saw niall. she had been occupied trying to keep her friends safe as well as doing her best to avoid niall. it worked for a few weeks until today of all days, alexa just had to cross paths with niall.
alexa sent the henderson an innocent smile, "what can i say? i'm just... small?" she stated but it was said more of a question than a statement which had niall bursting into a fit of laughter.
once niall had calmed down from his fit of laughter, "you're not wrong, speedy." he lightly chuckled, "you're a midget."
alexa gasped in offense, "i am not!" she exclaimed. deep down, she knew that she was small compared to other girls but in her defence, it just made her stand out from all the other girls.
niall sent the rooney a bright smile, "whatever you say, speedy." he replied. a wash of relief came over him when he realised that alexa was fine considering that he hadn't seen her for weeks and now he just didn't want to leave her presence. he opened his mouth but before he could say anything, alexa's phone had vibrated which indicated that she had a notification.
alexa looked down at the text message she had received from emma.
EMMA
lewis is bringing cleo to the juicenet cafe at 5:30pm so you need to be here before then. he has an entire plan on how we can redo cleo's birthday party so we can do the things that cleo likes for the party. and if you happen to come across niall, let him know that he is invited to the party.
alexa quickly typed a response back to the gilbert.
ALEXA
i'm on my way. see you soon.
"is everything alright?" niall questioned the rooney in concern after she had gone silent for a few minutes.
alexa nodded her head, "everything is fine." she stood up from her seat, "we have to go."
a puzzled look appeared on niall's face, "go where?"
alexa turned to face niall. she explained to the henderson, "it's cleo's birthday today. there was a party in her backyard but it didn't go very well so everyone's decided to do a redo of her birthday party with what she likes." she smiled, "so, are you coming?" she asked.
a bright smile appeared on niall's face. he didn't expect to be invited to cleo's birthday party considering that he wasn't close with the brunette sertori but if alexa was there, then he would go anywhere as long as she was beside him, "yeah, of course, let's go."
so niall and alexa hurriedly made their way to the juicenet cafe where they saw don, emma, rikki and byron setting up the party decorations for cleo's birthday party.
"there you guys are." emma stated as she walked up to niall and alexa. she pulled alexa into a hug, "we're just getting everything sorted."
"it looks amazing. it's exactly what cleo would have wanted." alexa told the gilbert as she detached her arms from around emma's figure.
byron had pulled niall in for a bro-hug, "you guys took your time. what have you both been up to?" he smiled at the henderson and rooney mischievously.
niall nervously chuckled, "i-it was nothing. just catching up since we haven't seen each other in a while."
"whatever you say, bro." byron told his brunette friend who shoved him by the arm with a playful glare on his face which resulted in the two boys play-fighting.
emma rolled her eyes at the boys' antics, "that's enough, boys." she scolded the two male best friends. she added ,"lewis will be here with cleo any minute so do us all a favour and zip it." which earned chuckles from the group.
once all the decorations had been set up in the juicenet cafe, everyone stood behind the cake. alexa stood in between rikki and niall as they waited patiently for lewis to arrive with cleo.
soon enough, alexa noticed cleo had entered the juicenet cafe which caused everyone to exclaim, "surprise!" as they all clapped their hands together with beaming smiles plastered on their face for the birthday girl.
cleo covered her face with her hand in shock before a cheerful smile appeared on her face at the scene in front of her. she walked over to the three girls with tears pooling in her eyes.
"happy birthday, cleo." alexa, rikki and emma stated simultaneously with a bright smile on their faces for the brunette sertori.
"you did all this?" cleo questioned the three girls who shook their heads in response.
alexa looked over to lewis and tilted her head in cleo's direction as a gesture for him to join the conversation between the four girls, "what do you think i needed the money for? happy birthday, cleo." he passed cleo a silver gift bag which had her gift inside. cleo let a thankful smile appear on her lips before she reached her hands inside the gift bag for lewis' present. in her hands was an orange balloon dog and she held it tightly to her chest, "i couldn't resist."
"thank you, lewis." cleo thanked the mccartney with a grateful look on her face. she leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek which caused the mccartney to nervously chuckle under his breath at the sertori.
"i've got your gift too, cleo." alexa told the sertori before she quickly ran over to the gift table and grabbed her gift bag. she made her way back to cleo and the group before she held out the gift bag for cleo to take, "i had no idea what to get you but when i saw this, i knew this was the perfect gift for you. i hope you like it."
cleo smiled at the rooney before she opened the gift bag. she reached her hand inside and she took out the silver charm bracelet which had the letter 'c' for her name and a mermaid tail. she let out a small gasp at the gift before she let the tears trickle down her face. she pulled the rooney in for a hug who wrapped her arms around the sertori in a loving embrace, "i love it, lex. thank you so much."
alexa was the first one to pull out of the hug, "of course. you can add whatever charms you want to complete the charm bracelet. it's yours to create." she let a sly smirk appear on her face, "lewis." she called for the mccartney, "why don't you help cleo put on the charm bracelet i got for her?" she suggested which caused byron, niall, emma and rikki to let out a laugh and for lewis and cleo to go bright red.
"y-yeah o-of course." lewis nervously replied as cleo handed him the charm bracelet. his hands nervously shook which mirrored his beating heart as he clasped the silver charm bracelet around cleo's left wrist before he let his hands fall to his sides.
cleo admired the charms that were on the charm bracelet before she quickly looked up, "i need to talk to my dad."
rikki nodded her head in understanding, "go, cleo. we'll be waiting for you."
cleo smiled at the blonde chadwick before she walked out of the juicenet cafe.
"who wants cake?" niall questioned the group. alexa turned around to see niall had icing all around his mouth which caused the group to break into a fit of laughter.
"niall!" bryon scolded his best friend, "what will your coach say about this?" he questioned.
niall shrugged his shoulders, "what the coach doesn't know won't hurt him. and besides, it's only for tonight."
alexa picked up some tissues from the table and made her way over to niall and wiped the icing off his mouth, "you are a messy eater." she stated the obvious.
"well done for pointing out the obvious, sherlock holmes." niall joked with the rooney who rolled her eyes in annoyance. he dipped his finger in the icing sugar in the slice of cake that was on his plate before he wiped it on alexa's face.
alexa's mouth was wide in shock at what niall just did who let out a roar of laughter whilst emma, rikki, byron and lewis silently laughed to themselves before they walked off, leaving the lovebirds on their own, "you did not just do that."
niall nodded his head with a smirk plastered on his face that alexa wanted to wipe off, "looks like i just did."
alexa dipped her finger in the icing and repeated niall's action by wiping the icing on his nose which caused the rooney to laugh, "looks like karma came to give you what you deserve."
"you're gonna regret this, speedy. let's hope you do justice by your nickname and see how fast you can run." niall warned the rooney with a playful smile on his face as he shoved his hands in the icing of cleo's birthday cake and ran towards the rooney with his hands held out.
the atmosphere was filled with the laughs that alexa was emitting as emma and rikki watched niall and alexa having the time of their lives.
it was the first time that emma and rikki had seen alexa having fun for herself. she was finally doing something for herself without worrying about the safety of her loved ones. this was what she needed and they were glad that niall was there to grant a good time for her.
alexa could spend her time avoiding niall but it was obvious that he was a good influence on her, no matter how much she denied it. it was obvious that this was the turning point for niall and alexa's relationship and there was now no turning back.
and maybe alexa was alright with that.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: hi everyone! school has been draining me out so much but i'm glad that i was able to publish a chapter for this story. i appreciate the patience that you have and i hope you enjoyed this chapter. see you in the next chapter ! <3.