"So, you guys are aware that there's a full moon this Saturday, right? How are you all feeling about it?" Lewis McCartney asks the three girls sitting around him in the booth quietly, before taking a sip of his juice.

"Ugh, I'd really rather not think about that right now, Lewis. That's in four days time, why do we need to plan so far ahead? And besides, it's not like our prepping has ever actually helped us anyway." Rikki Chadwick groans and rolls her eyes in annoyance, tired of the science geek always mothering them about the dangers of being a mermaid and the full moon. Emma is bad enough, and Lewis is just too much in Rikki's opinion.

"Well, I like to be prepared anyway. It at least makes me feel a little calmer on the day of the full moon at least. And besides, no preparation would just make things a hundred times worse," Cleo Sertori interjects, sticking up for her boyfriend, glancing over to him for a moment with a comforting smile, which Lewis is grateful for and can't help but smile back while reaching out for her hand and squeezing it gently.

"Lewis is right, Rikki. We can't be unprepared. Every month, the moon hits one of us, and every month, bad stuff happens." Emma warns the fellow blonde girl solemnly.

"Yeah well, I'm sick of it, and I'm sick of Lewis thinking he knows how we're feeling and telling us what to do when he doesn't actually know anything about the full moon at all!" Rikki says in a huff, noticing Lewis wince a little as she speaks. For a moment, she feels a slight pang of guilt, but she quickly pushes that emotion aside, knowing that she wanted to speak her mind about this issue for ages. She also ignores the hard glares that Cleo and Emma are giving her.

"Look, maybe I don't exactly know what you girls go through, but I feel like I still have a pretty good understanding of everything, and sometimes it's good to have an outsider's perspective on things. It gives the most unbiased results." Lewis concedes, and Rikki just rolls her eyes.

"Don't try and pretend to know what all of this is like, you have no idea! And your plans to keep us safe never work anyway, so maybe you need to just leave us alone on full moons!" Rikki snaps harshly.

"Rikki!" Cleo and Emma scowl at their fiery friend.

"Please, you both know it's true," Rikki scoffs before finishing the last of her juice.

"Why are you in such a mood today?" Emma drowns sternly.

"I'm not, I'm just speaking the truth." Rikki retorts. Cleo listens to his friends argue in disbelief, wondering how the hell things changed so quickly. Only a minute ago, things were great and everyone was happy and talking about random things. Cleo glances over to Lewis, and notices that he has become really quiet, which isn't really like him, especially in an argument with Rikki. Those two probably bicker the most, even more than Emma and Rikki. Usually, it's all light hearted, but this felt a bit different, and it was clear to Cleo that Lewis knew it.

"Rikki, Lewis does more for us than you realise." Cleo speaks up to defend her boyfriend firmly.

"What, like leading a marine biologist to finding out mermaids actually exist? Dating a psycho who he stupidly let find out about mermaids and tried to kill us, and forced you to run away? Yeah, some help." Rikki seethes, her eyes narrowing. She definitely has not forgiven Lewis for Charlotte yet, which is probably why she's letting out all of her frustration now.

"Rikki! That's not fair!" Cleo exclaims loudly, almost at a yell, causing a few patrons of the Juicenet cafe to turn their heads towards them in confusion.

"No, she's right, I haven't always been careful, but it has never been my intention to hurt any of you guys. I just want to help, and protect you." Lewis pipes up, a guilty and sad look in his eyes.

"Well, maybe stop trying to help us, because you just make things worse." Rikki hisses, not caring about the look of shock and hurt that appears on Lewis' face.

"Rikki!" Cleo scowls once more.

"I don't want to be mothered by someone who doesn't even have any understanding of what this stuff is actually like. You can't science your way out of everything, Lewis. Especially when it comes to Mako Island." Rikki replies with a nonchalant shrug. Everyone falls into absolute silence at that, tension thick in the air. Despite having some extremely vocal harsh opinions, some of her points did resonate with the others, and no one knew how to voice that.

"My parents are okay with me having some friends over this weekend while they go camping with Elliot, but I had to promise them no boys. I'm sorry Lewis." Emma finally admits guiltily.

"Oh... okay, sure, that's fine, no worries. I'm glad you've got a place you can keep safe in without having to worry about anyone. Just, uh, call me if you need anything, I guess?" Lewis stammers a little awkwardly as he runs a hand anxiously through his hair, trying to ignore the pang in his heart, knowing that as much as he tries, he will never truly be one of them, and there's only so much he can do to help. Lewis' science and logic has not really made the mermaids lives any easier, as magic doesn't play by the laws of science. It just makes Lewis feel so helpless, always wanting to be there for his friends and girlfriend, but knowing that will not always be the case.

"Lewis... you know that we need you, right? We couldn't do any of this stuff without you." Cleo asks as she gazes at Lewis worriedly, and squeezes his hand reassuringly.

"Thanks, Cleo," Lewis glances over to his girlfriend and smiles appreciatively.

"And of course if we need anything or something is wrong we will call you, I promise." Cleo reassures her boyfriend confidently.

"Good. I just really don't want you guys to get hurt. Maybe I seem overbearing at times, but it's only because I care about you guys. I just... I feel like it would be my fault if something terrible happened." Lewis sighs, rubbing his hands over his face, suddenly feeling exhausted. He tries not to show it, but the last couple of years have really taken a toll on him. Ever since the girls became mermaids, Lewis has been a huge ball of anxiety and stress, never feeling like he can completely put his guard down in case something bad happens. Charlotte proved why he can't let his guard down. He still can't believe all of the things she did to hurt the girls, especially Cleo. It pains Lewis every time he thinks about that. The girls trusted him with their secret, and he is trying his best to honour it, although it seems that he has been failing a bit lately.

"Lewis, don't beat yourself up. You don't have to look out for us, but you do anyway, because you're a great guy. But in the end, it's our responsibility to look out for ourselves. We can't let people completely bend over backwards and destroying their lives to save our asses." Emma tells the blond teenage scientist encouragingly.

"I know," Lewis sighs once again, still feeling deflated, but he understands where his friends are coming from.

"Hey, how about you have a boys night on Saturday? With Ash and Zane?" Cleo suggests helpfully, and Lewis can't help but smile as he watches Cleo's entire face light up.

"Yeah, maybe. I'll see if they're busy. Anyway, I gotta go. I have to finalise a report for physics tomorrow." Lewis says as he stands up, the girls following suit.

"See you later, Lewis." Cleo says before leaning in and giving him a quick kiss, which causes Rikki to gag from behind her.

"I don't need to see all of this lovey dovey crap. Just hurry it up!" Rikki groans, warning an elbow into her side from a glaring Emma. Rikki looks at her in confusion, not thinking that she had done anything wrong. Emma just rolls her eyes at her oblivious friend.

"Alright, I'll see you guys later. I'll call you in a couple of hours, Cleo." Lewis smiles and gives his friends a wave before he gets up from the booth and walks out of the Juicenet cafe still feeling a little disappointed about Saturday as well as still being wracked with guilt about Charlotte and Doctor Linda Denman.


"Hmm, so you promise there's not going to be any boys over this weekend, right?" Emma's mother, Lisa hums as she paces across the living room floor, not particularly wanting her daughter to miss out on a camping trip again.

"Yes Mum, I promise. It'll just be me, Cleo and Rikki." Emma replies earnestly.

"Good. If we come back and find there are boys here, I'll make sure to ground you until you move out of this house." Lisa says as she comes to a stop and stares at her daughter pointedly.

"I understand, Mum." Emma nods, a little frustrated that they have to go over the same topic again after they had discussed it days ago.

"It's just that you have your boyfriend now, and Cleo and Rikki do too I believe, and it's just... you're too young for all of that stuff. I don't want you to be alone with Ash all weekend while we are out of town," Lisa explains a bit awkwardly, not enjoying needing to have this talk with her daughter.

"Mum!" Emma exclaims in a fluster as she goes bright red.

"Sorry, I know it's embarrassing, but you're only 17, Emma. You're still my baby girl," Lisa apologises as she walks over to her daughter and pulls her in for a side hug.

"Well, technically I'm only going to be a child for another six months," Emma smirks as she pulls out of the hug a few seconds later.

"Ugh, don't remind me." Lisa groans, not understanding how the time has flown by. She could have sworn Emma was a toddler only a couple of years ago. And yet, she is in her last year of high school. Emma chuckles at her mother's remark.

"Thanks for letting me stay home and having my friends over this weekend, Mum. I really appreciate it." Emma smiles appreciatively.

"You're welcome, Emma. But you have to come camping with us one of these days. It doesn't feel the same without you." Lisa responds.

"I know, I'll try." Emma says, trying to not let any uncertainty waver in her voice. Of course she wants to go camping with her family again, but it just seems too risky. Especially the couple of times they've camped at Mako Island (not on a full moon night thankfully). Maybe one day though... maybe one day.

"Anyway, would you be able to start dinner for me, Em? I've still got to do some last minute packing before we leave tomorrow morning. And I doubt Neil has even started packing yet, so I'll probably have to do that too." Lisa asks hopefully.

"Sure, Mum. Anything in particular that you're feeling like?" Emma smiles as she walks towards the kitchen.