I do not own H2O: Just Add Water or any of the characters.
Chapter 16: Young Love (part 2)
🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
[The next day at the café, Emma sits uncomfortably by Cleo at their table as she looks over at Rikki, who is sitting on the other side of Cleo. A second later, Elliot pulls up a chair from another table and puts it next to Rikki.]
Rikki: to Emma. "Is there something you wanted to say to me?"
Emma: "Well, no." Elliot sits down.
"What are you doing with them?" Neil asks. "I wanted to be by my hero," Elliot blushes.
Rikki: "When exactly did we become babysitters?" She glances at Elliot.
Emma: "Elliot, can you just –." Wilfred, the owner of Juicenet Café, cuts her off by bringing their tray of drinks.
Wilfred: sets the drinks down for each person. "Two juices, one mango smoothie, and a banana sundae." He puts the tray down in his arms, before smiling at Elliot. "So, did your girlfriend like the chocolates?" Rikki snorts her drink she took as Emma tries not to smile.
Zane looks at the screen, amused a little by the idea of Elliot trying to get his girlfriend. "Guess you got some competition," Harrison mutters to Zane, laughing.
Wilfred: "He's a right gentleman, this one. Came in with his piggy bank and he spent every cent he had." He chuckles. Rikki looks agitated, glaring at Emma. "She must be quite a girl."
"He would be perfect for Kim," Bev says, quiet enough for the girl being mentioned to not overhear. "Don't ever say that again," Don points up, not daring to look at her. Bev sighs, but glances over at Sam, who looks at her, smiling, and she raises an eyebrow. "I think so too."
Elliot: "She sure is." Wilfred raises an eyebrow, smiling, and leaves.
Rikki: "We need to talk." Elliot begins to get up, but she quickly glances at him. "Stay."
[He sits back down as Rikki stands up, marching over to the other side of the café next to the pool tables. Emma follows.]
Cleo: to Elliot. "Wait right here." She gets up, walking over to them, who have their arms crossed.
"Where would I go?" Elliot asks jokingly. "Maybe to a plant nursery," Emma says, raising an eyebrow as he lowers back in his seat, realizing she has a point.
Cleo: "It's so sweet. He has a crush on you."
Kim tenses up at hearing this. Does he?
Rikki: "Yeah, sweet like a lemon." Looks at Emma. "Did you know about this?"
Emma: shrugs. "Well, not exactly." Rikki looks outside, angry.
"You totally did," Rikki says plainly.
Emma: "Rikki, don't hurt his –."
Rikki: cuts her off. "Don't even think about asking me to humor him. It's not going to happen." She shakes her head.
Emma: "Can you at least be gentle?"
Cleo: "He's a sweet kid."
"Her, gentle? That's like asking a turtle to outrun the hare," Lewis scoffs. "What? Turtles don't run," Denman says, confused. "Exactly."
Rikki: "You're all disturbed. Why is everything sweet and nice all the time?"
"Because, it's nice?" Cleo shrugs.
Emma: "Rikki, it's his first crush. Don't you remember what it was like to be a kid?"
"She's not my first," Elliot says. "Then who was?" Emma asks. Elliot doesn't respond, only looking at Kim, who pouts as she watches the scene unfold.
Rikki: "No, and besides, this is just all because I saved his life. It's like pulling a thorn out of a dog's foot."
Emma nods, understanding why she did not mention more of her childhood then. It's because it wasn't so 'sweet and nice all the time.' She begins to feel bad, never knowing this stuff about her friend, who almost felt like a sister to her after all of their adventures.
"But wouldn't you do that gently?" Bella asks. "Not all the time."
Emma: "And you would do that gently, wouldn't you?"
Rikki: "No, I'd do it fast and hope I didn't get bitten." Emma rolls her eyes, and they stay quiet for a few seconds.
"That's the other way," Rikki points out. "The painful way?" Annette winces.
Rikki: sighs. "Ok, I don't do the whole relationship thing very well."
"Including friendships," she mentions. You did with me, Zane thinks.
Cleo: "It's not a relationship. He's eleven."
Rikki: "Ok, I don't do the whole people liking me thing very well."
Emma: "What's there to do?" It stays quiet for a moment before Rikki speaks up.
Rikki: looks at her. "Fine. Tell me what to say to get him off my case. And I'll say it." She shrugs. They try thinking of something but fail.
Cleo: "I've got nothing."
Emma: shrugs slightly. "Me either."
"There's nothing to say, really. Not to a kid," Will says, the rest nodding in agreement.
🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
[Afterwards, they visit Lewis, who is still at the nursery, working on the sprinkler system. They find him in the office working on the power box for it, Rikki leans against a table as the other two watches from the doorway.]
Lewis: "And you're asking me because –."
Rikki: smirks. "Well, we figured you would have been rejected a few times. Surely you know a few methods that would work." Emma grins.
"Unfortunately that's true," Lewis frowns, sighing.
"There is no method. It all leads to a downfall," Ash says sadly, earning a weird look from Emma.
Lewis: slowly turns to them and gives a sarcastic laugh. "Ha ha." He goes back to working on the box.
Lenny: comes to the doorway behind the girls. "We need this up and running soon, Lewis."
Lewis: continues working on the box. "Yeah, no, no, I'm almost there." He pushes a switch up and turns back to them. "Right, every day at 5 o clock, each of three sections will be watered in one-minute intervals."
"That's not a lot," Sam says.
Lenny: "That's a bit short, isn't it?"
Lewis: leans against the box. "No, no, it'll allow for absorption, so you won't be wasting water." The girls look around, getting bored. "And the software will repeat twenty times."
Lenny: "That sounds better. Can't have my plants going thirsty." He leaves the doorway.
Lewis: "No chance of that." He turns back to the box but spins back around once they call his name.
"And you knew that how?" Zane asks. "Well, as you can tell, I had plenty of reasons to study water," Lewis explains. "And you can tell we grew bored to death," Rikki rolls her eyes.
Emma: "Lewis, boy advice, please."
Lewis: squints, thinking. "Ah, yeah, most guys just want to know where they stand."
Rikki: nods to Emma. "Told you."
"That's simple," Bella shrugs. "There's more," Lewis points.
Lewis: "Without having to feel like a loser."
Emma: "Told you."
"That's surprisingly accurate, yet very complicated," Charlotte says, confused. "It's the truth," Will says.
Cleo: "Will the crush wear off on its own?"
Lewis: hesitantly, he looks down. "Not, in my experience."
Cleo begins feeling bad, now understanding what he meant, and lays a hand on his shoulder. Bev sighs, knowing that they were meant to be, if only it could work out somehow. Charlotte feels her cheeks heating up as she tries to remember to breathe.
Lenny: opens the gate to the nursery. "Hey, Lewis, time is money." He turns to them.
Emma: "It's okay. We were just leaving." They leave the office and Cleo waves goodbye to Lewis, completely clueless of what Lewis meant.
"Were you?" Lewis asks. "Yeah, we had enough of you," Rikki teases.
🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
[Later that day, Rikki walks down the beach, watching people surf, when Elliot runs up behind her.]
Elliot: "Hey, Rikki."
Rikki: "Oh, Elliot, what a surprise."
"What are you doing there? You know you're not supposed to go alone," Neil warns. "I, I wanted to surprise her," Elliot looks down, Rikki feels guilty.
Elliot: hides a beautiful, glass blue dolphin behind his back. "I brought you something."
Rikki: closes eyes. "Look, Elliot, no more presents, alright?"
Elliot: "Ok." They continue walking down the beach.
"Wish Miriam would've said that," Zane mutters.
Elliot: "Hey, I was thinking maybe you and I could catch a movie."
Rikki: "No, thanks."
"Too fast buddy," Ash chuckles.
Elliot: "We can see anything you'd like." He tries holding her hand, but she snatches it away.
Rikki: inhales a sharp breath. "Hey, I know you've got a crush on me. But I'm not interested."
Emma frowns, her anger beginning to rise again. "Is that what you call gentle?" "It's called being honest," Rikki retorts. "Here we go again," Cleo sighs, hoping it won't last long.
"He was clingy," Kim mutters, still feeling her cheeks get hot.
Elliot: "Did you know I'm going to be a professional surfer?"
"You already told her that," Kim says. "I was trying to change the subject."
Rikki: ignores him. "Elliot, the fact is, I'm not a girlfriend kind of girl. I'm a loner. That's how I like it."
"Now I know you're lying," Zane scoffs. "I was just trying to get him off my back," Rikki replies.
Elliot: "What if I became a loner, too? Then we could both be loners together."
Kim narrows her eyes at the screen, taking in a deep breath. Why her? Why not someone else!
Rikki: she stops walking, and they face each other, finally snapping. "Look, even if you were, four years older, two feet taller, and a whole lot less squeaky clean. I would not be interested." She bends down, getting to his level. "In the real world, no means no. So back off." She storms off a little ways down the beach. Elliot looks at the ocean, then angrily throws the gift into the water, sinking to the bottom. Rikki watches this, then leaves as Elliot begins to have tears falling down his face.
They gasp as they watched this happen. "Rikki! How could you?!" Emma yells at her, glaring at the girl. "He's just a kid!" "Well, I'm sorry! He kept pushing me until I snapped. What was I supposed to do? He wouldn't leave me alone and wouldn't take no for an answer!" she yells back. Emma angrily crosses her arms and huffs. Instead of yelling more and creating a fracture in their friendship, she chooses to close her eyes, taking deep breaths before opening them again and nodding towards Elliot. Rikki glances to where Emma was nodding to and sees the little boy.
She sighs, getting the point that Emma was trying to make: she should not be apologizing to her; she should be apologizing to him. She looks at him with a worried, apologetic look and begins to speak, not yell. "Elliot, I am so sorry. For what I said. And for everything I did. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that." She lets a small smile form on her face as she continues. "Do you think, after all this, we could try hanging out as friends again?" Elliot smiles, a few tears threatening to spill. He runs over and hugs Rikki as he quickly nods. Rikki slowly returns the hug, chuckling, although still not getting used to it. Emma, no longer able to keep being angry at the sight of it, can't help but give them both a hug as she wraps them both in her arms, smiling; glad that her brother was happy about making a new friend. Their parents smile at the scene, happy that they were able to get along. Cleo sighs in relief, glad that the arguing was over. "Finally."
🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
[The next day at the Juicenet, Emma frantically hurries over to Cleo, who is by the counter, with her arms crossed as Rikki walks in.]
Rikki: "Hey guys, what's up?"
Cleo: leans against the counter. "We can't find Elliot."
"What?" Lisa asks, leaning forward in her seat, beginning to worry about her son. "What do you mean?" Neil asks, concern laced in his voice. "Uh-oh," Elliot says, glancing over at Emma, who gives him the same wide-eyed look. This isn't going to go well for either of us.
"They're kids, they'll show up," Harrison assures them, Zane does the same thing.
Rikki: "He'll be around. Just relax."
Emma: shakes her head. "He's not, Rikki. We've looked all over and he's not anywhere. It's not like him to just disappear."
"He did disappear when he went to the beach," Lewis says. "Not helping," Emma says, clenching her jaw.
Rikki: "Have you told your parents?"
Emma: "No way. They'd freak out. It's like he's run away." She shrugs.
"Of course, we would! Our child was missing!" Lisa hollers, her heartbeat racing in fear of what was happening. Emma flinches, not used to hearing her mother yell, for it was on rare occasions. Lisa reaches over and hugs Elliot tight as if he were to never leave her side. "Mom! I'm here. I'm fine. Please, let me breathe!" he says, struggling to break free.
Emma: "You know, he was acting all weird last night, not his usual happy self." Rikki rubs her neck, looking away, and Emma notices. "What?"
Rikki: looks up, quickly shaking her head. "Oh, no, it's probably just nothing."
"It was more than nothing," Emma says.
Emma: "Rikki."
Rikki: she inhales, then exhales deeply. "Ok, I told him that I wasn't interested." They sigh, looking away. "But I think I was gentle." They give her a stern look.
"So, that is gentle to you," Lewis comments, earning a slap to the head from Rikki.
Rikki: "Ok, ok, I told him that, even if he was older, and taller, and a lot less, I think the words were squeaky clean, that I wouldn't be interested and that he should just back off and leave me alone." They stare at her in shock, which turns to anger.
Cleo: "Rikki –."
Emma: "He's just a kid."
Rikki: "He kept bugging me."
"That's what kids do," Cleo comments, glancing at her sister, who playfully sticks her tongue out at her.
Emma: drops her arms. "You keep acting like he's committing a crime for having a crush on you." Emma goes silent, before sighing, glancing at Cleo.
Emma: "We've got to go find him before my parents find out. But if anything happens to him, it'll be your fault." She gives her a look and they walk away from her. Rikki spins around and sits at a table with her head leaning in her hand, upset by what she just found out when Lewis walks in.
Rikki begins feeling bad, knowing that Emma was right. If anything did happen to him, it would be her fault.
"You should have told us," Neil says, trying to pry Elliot out of Lisa's arms, to no avail. "Sorry, dad."
Lewis: sits at the same table, slapping his hat on it, before noticing her look. "Hey. Why the long face?"
Rikki: "Elliot."
Lewis: chuckles. "Oh, let me guess." He points at her. "You tried to let him down easy. And now he's mortally crushed." He swings his hands around.
Rikki: drops her hand. "He's gone missing, Lewis. This is serious."
"You were worried about me?" Elliot asks. "Well, I didn't want you getting hurt."
Rikki: sighs. "Have you seen him anywhere?"
Lewis: "No, no I haven't, not since Lenny's."
"Then where?" Annette asks. "You'll see," Elliot says.
Lewis: "Maybe you should try thinking like a little kid."
Rikki: scoffs. "Easier said than done. Where would you hide if you were a little kid?"
Lewis: "Somewhere you'd never find me."
"That doesn't help," Charlotte says. "Actually, it does," Rikki smiles.
Elliot smirks, getting an idea of where this is going.
Rikki: thinks about it, then grins. She gets up and leaves quickly. "That's it."
Lewis: taken back. "What? Alright, be mysterious." He mocks her, waving his hands and arms around.
"I wanted to know too," Lewis pouts, making Rikki chuckle.
🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
[Rikki runs past the gate, into the nursery, searching everywhere for Elliot.]
Rikki: "Elliot. Elliot. I know you're in here." She goes further in, pushing the leaves aside. "Please come out. I'm sorry. It's nearly closing time." Eventually, she finds him lying on the ground with his head buried into his knees. She smiles when he looks up.
Everyone sighs in relief, especially the parents. Lisa loosens her grip on Elliot, and he breathes in, glad that he can breathe better. He wiggles out of her arms and slowly goes to sit back down in his seat.
"How did you know?" Ash asks. "He could hide there forever," Rikki smirks, repeating Elliot's words.
Rikki: "I remember you said you could hide here forever." Elliot looks back down and she sits next to him. She gives him a sad smile. "Elliot, are you ok?"
Elliot: he buries his head back into his knees. "I'm fine. Just leave me alone."
"Clearly you're not," Kim mutters, feeling bad for her friend.
Rikki: "Listen, Elliot, I'm sorry about all that stuff I said yesterday. It's just that, ever since I was little, I'm not used to people liking me." She shakes her head. "But, when people like me, it's not so easy. It makes me feel like." She sighs, thinking of what to say. "I mean, I don't even think I can explain it. It makes me feel like, I'm fenced in. And I don't handle it very well." Elliot gets out of his knees, still looking down.
Terry tenses up, thinking he understands where this is coming from. Does this all have to do about her mother?
The others begin to feel bad, even Emma, as they sit there in silence, worried about how it must have been for her. Zane glances over at her, concern written all over his face, but she looks down, not liking her feelings out in the open. Cleo grins, attempting to make the blonde feel better. "Get used to it, you're stuck with us," causing Rikki to smile.
"Just like Julia," Mrs. Chatham whispers, Max nodding along.
Rikki: "I'm sorry, Elliot. Reckon you could try to understand?"
Elliot: slowly, he answers. "Can we still hang out together sometimes?"
[Rikki smiles, standing up, and holds her hand out for Elliot. He accepts it and stands ups, walking off, together.]
"Of course. That's what friends do," she smiles as she sees Elliot brighten up once again.
🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
[Lenny walks out of the office with his bag and looks at his watch. Right at 5, the gate automatically closes shut, and locks.]
Lenny: smirks. "Well, what do you know, it works." He closes the office door and puts a lock on it, then leaves. The timer for the first section starts ticking down.
"Of course, it does. Don't doubt my mind," Lewis says, earning another whack to the head from Rikki.
"Oh no," Don says, realizing what this means: that there was more trouble to come.
🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
Rikki: "I think the entrance is this way." She pauses when she looks up and sees the sprinkler pipes begin to shake.
"Well, no more perfect timing it seems like," Bella winces.
🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
[Lewis is about to go fishing as he steps toward his boat at the docks, fishing gear in hand when his phone rings. He grabs it out of his pocket and answers.]
Lewis: "Hello? The watering system starts at 5. Why? What?" His smile falters, turning into a look of shock. "You what? Oh, ok, I'm on my way." He hangs up and hesitates, before dropping his pole into the boat and calls for help while running off. "Emma?"
"Well, at least it doesn't start right at 5," Will says hopefully.
🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
Rikki: grabs Elliot's hand and starts running. "Elliot, quick, run."
Elliot: "Why are we running?"
[The sprinklers begin going off in the first section, which they just barely missed. She looks at them for a second then starts running again with Elliot. They keep running till they get to another part of the section that blocks them off as the sprinklers go off as well, causing them to scramble to the right.]
Rikki: "This way." Another section goes off behind them, just narrowly dodging it. They jog for a few seconds, then stop.
"That was so close!" Cleo says.
"It's like a minefield," Bella says worriedly, knowing one wrong step and her secret could be exposed to the little boy. Terry begins to get worried, afraid that her life could change for the worse at any minute.
Rikki: "Right, so this is section two."
Elliot: "What's wrong? Why are we running?"
"I was so confused then," Elliot mentions.
Rikki: looks at Elliot. "What did Lewis say? What was the interval between watering every section?"
Elliot: points at himself. "You're asking me? I don't know."
"Who else would she be asking," Kim rolls her eyes. "I wasn't there."
Rikki: she huffs, waving her hands around. "I think it was a minute. Sorry, Elliot, run."
"Oh, so now you listen to me?" Lewis scoffs. "You were listening?" Emma asks, surprised.
[They run into section three, just as the timer for section two goes off. She stops to point which way to go.]
Rikki: "I think it's this way." She starts running again.
"Timing is precise here," Max says.
🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
[Lewis sprints to the gate, trying to get it to open, with no success.]
Lewis: "Oh no." He looks at the office and goes to it. "Lenny?" He bangs on the door. "Lenny, are you there?" He looks inside the window, unable to find him, then runs back to the gate again, looking at the sprinklers.
"Get it open!" Sam shouts. "I couldn't. Not with the office locked."
Elliot: being dragged by Rikki. "I don't get it. What's the big deal? Is something chasing us?" They make it to the gate, trying to push it open.
Lewis: sees them. "It's locked."
Rikki: "What?"
Lewis: "You can't get out. I installed this yesterday, automatic lock, unbreakable."
Elliot: to Rikki. "I guess we're stuck here for a while." Rikki begins to get worried and grabs the fence.
"If it's unbreakable, then how did you get out?" Denman asks. "It is unbreakable, but only for normal humans," Rikki smirks, crossing her arms.
Emma: and Cleo runs up to the fence. "Elliot."
Rikki: looks at the sprinklers. "Yep, found him. But this might turn ugly."
Lewis: glances at his watch. "Yeah, look, you guys got about twenty seconds before those start." The sprinklers begin shaking nearby.
Elliot: "So we get wet. What's the big deal."
"You still didn't remember the diary?!" Kim says, slapping her forehead. "I wasn't thinking about it!"
Rikki: they begin looking around, and then she sees a watering can and points to it on the ground. "Cleo." Cleo sees it and grabs it. Rikki spins Elliot around, distracting him. "Is that a lizard?" She shows him a nearby bush.
Elliot: "Where?" He begins looking for it as Rikki turns around.
"I'm an idiot," Elliot sighs, feeling dumb for falling for it. "Indeed," Kim giggles.
Cleo: pours water on the automatic lock. "Em."
[Emma aims her hand at the lock and freezes it, as the sprinklers begin to shake above Rikki. Emma freezes the lock some more, causing it to spark, and break open as they step back.]
Rikki: waves for Elliot to come over. "Elliot." They run out of the gate, just as the last set of sprinklers go off, right where they were previously standing. Elliot runs into Emma's arms, the both of them hugging.
"Whew, that was a close one," Terry says, relieved.
"Now, that's strong control," Will says.
Lewis: walks over to the broken gate, taking his hat off, clearly upset. "I told Lenny that lock was going to be unbreakable. He'll sue me."
Cleo: shocked, she puts her hands on her hips. "You're lock? You locked them in?" She glances at them.
"Technically it wasn't mine. It was Lenny's," Lewis grins, earning another glare from the mermaids.
Lewis: scoffs and turns to look at them. "It's not my fault. At closing time, it locks. It's –." He sees the angry looks on their faces and changes what he was about to say. "It's, prone to breakage and I'll have to rectify that." Lewis puts his hat back on and tries to fix the lock on the gate.
"Good choice, Lewis," Emma smirks, the others laughing at seeing him chicken out.
Elliot: still in Emma's arms. "You guys are weird. Were you running from the water?" They turn to him.
"Yes," Kim says plainly.
Rikki: "Yeah, it's, ah, it's my water-based mascara." The trio nods. "It runs everywhere when it's wet." They start walking away, leaving Lewis behind to fix the lock.
Elliot: "Girls are weird."
"If it were true, you would've been fine," Ash scoffs but shuts up when he sees Rikki glaring at him.
"You can say that again," Max laughs.
Emma: holds onto Elliot by putting her arm around his shoulder. "Elliot, don't every runaway again."
Elliot: "Alright."
Emma: "And don't tell mom and dad."
Elliot: "No way."
"So that's how we didn't know. You two made a pack," Neil chuckles.
Emma: rubs his head and let's go. "And don't get a girlfriend until you're old enough."
Elliot: "Ok."
"How old?" Elliot asks. "Never," Neil smiles, causing Elliot to sigh.
[He tries to hold Rikki's hand again, but she snatches it away, again.]
Rikki: "And don't push your luck." Emma puts her arm back around him.
They chuckle at his cute but failed attempt.
[Underwater, Rikki dives down, searching for the glass-blue dolphin. Finding it, she picks it up, smiles, and swims away.]
Elliot looks at the screen, a wide smile forming, hope filling up again. "You went to look for it?" he asks, as he turns to her. She hesitates, trying to think of what to say, before smiling back at him, nodding. "Think of it as a sort of bond, for our friendship." "Thanks, Rikki." He hugs her again, making it uncomfortable for Rikki as she sighs. "Emma? A little help here," she gestures to her new friend. Emma laughs as she starts prying Elliot off her. He finally let's go and goes back to his seat, jumping with excitement. His parents laugh at his reaction, as Emma turns toward them, giving a sad smile.
"Does this mean we're in trouble?" They look at each other before they both nod. "Well, I guess since you did find him, and made up, that there's really no reason for there to be a punishment. Especially since he is already grounded for a bit," Lisa says, causing them to sigh in relief; except for Elliot who groans at the reminder of his still to be punishment.
"So, what's next?" Charlotte asks, clasping her hands together. The trio looks at one another, realizing that this next one will reveal the downside of all the magic. Although, they all can finally begin to understand what caused part of their transformation. Cleo sighs, deciding to speak up for them, trying to choose her next words carefully. "Let's just say, that this next one will be very, interesting." "Well, that's all I need to know," Neil says, grabbing the remote and presses play.