────────୨ৎ────────

You were Emma’s cousin, and every summer you traveled to the Gold Coast to stay with her. You were the same age, and her mum always made you hang out with her and her friends, Cleo and Rik.

You were different from them, but they still brought you along just like they did with Lewis. You had no clue that they turned into mermaids and a merman whenever they touched water. Only Lewis and Zane knew the truth.

But every time you were with them, your heart always drifted toward Emma’s friend Rik Chadwick. He was bold, confident, sharp around the edges, and effortlessly cool. You liked him from the very first moment you saw him, long before Emma ever became friends with him.

────────୨ৎ────────

You first met Rik during your very first summer trip on your own. You were sitting on the beach waiting for Emma to finish swimming when he walked by you. Sunlight hit his blond hair just right, he gave you a quick smirk, and that was all it took for your heart to fall apart.

You talked to him whenever you crossed paths. And it only got better once Emma officially became friends with him. You and Rik got close fast, closer than you expected.

Everything changed when you found out he got back together with Zane. The moment you heard it, something inside you dropped. You always returned each summer partly for Emma and the others, but mostly for Rik. Lewis started dating Charlotte, Emma was spending more time with Ash, and Rik had Zane again. Zane used to bully you and you could never figure out what Rik saw in him. Maybe people change, but it still hurt.

As the summer holidays came to an end, you walked along the beach alone, knowing you would be leaving soon. That was when you saw Rik without Zane anywhere near him.

────────୨ৎ────────

Rik was walking with his hands in his pockets, eyes drifting over the waves, until he spotted you. He gave you that same familiar smile from the day you first met. It almost felt like a sign that this might be the last moment between you.

"Hey." He approached you with a soft smile, noticing the way you looked upset and distant. His usual sharp tone faded, replaced with something gentler. His hair moved with the breeze as he stopped in front of you, his eyes flicking to the shoreline and then back to your face.

"Um… hey." His voice softened even more. He remembered the kiss he gave you before things ever happened with Zane. He remembered everything, even the part where he knew long distance might ruin it before it could begin.

"You’re leaving soon, right?" He asked quietly, like he already knew the answer but wanted to hear it from you anyway.

(I was bored to make a male version of Rikki)