Stairways | A Surviving Summer FanFiction

Part 15 - Safe Bet

"I don't know what was going on last night, and to be honest, I don't wanna know." you hear your mum say as she tapes up Marlon's foot in the van.

You're on the beach, warming up for your final which is up next. You're against Poppy, which is nerve-racking enough, but also the tension in the air from last night isn't helping matters.

"Guys!" Manu calls, ushering you over to a picnic bench. You take a seat next to the girls and Ari, who still looks tired from last night. "Okay, it's pretty flat out there, so you're gonna have to take your chances when they come, alright?" Manu says, just as Marlon takes a seat on the opposite side of the bench. "Nice of you to join us, Marlon." Manu says sarcastically. You watch as your brother tries to take Bodhi's hand, but she pulls away.

"Listen guys, I don't care about last night." Manu continues. "What gets me is that you lot are the most talented bunch of groms that have come out of Shorehaven in years. So don't waste it guys, okay? Now walk it off and get your heads in the game."

You do just that, trying Poppy's technique of putting headphones on right up until your heat, and you take a seat underneath one of the gazebos on the beach, where Poppy's also getting ready for the heat. The headphone trick doesn't last for long though, as Summer comes over, lifting up one side of the headphones and talking straight into your ear, making you jump.

"Crazy night, huh?" she says, a smile spread across her face, hiding what you guess is probably a hint of guilt.

"Y'know, for someone who thinks girls are too much drama, you sure like to stir a lot of it up yourself." Poppy pipes up.

"Maybe it was good all that stuff came out." you offer, but you know you probably don't even sound convinced yourself.

"What, you think we can just move past what Marlon did? Don't think so." Poppy says, shaking her head slightly.

"Well, maybe Y/n's right?" Summer says. "Now that you know what happened, maybe you can start working things out."

"If Ari ever talks to us again." Bodhi says.

"Look, I moved around a lot when I was younger; it was hard to make friends stick y'know?" Summer says awkwardly. "I just think it's cool how you guys have each other's backs, that's all. I've never really had that before."

"Summer, are you saying you've caught friend feelings for us?" Bodhi laughs, and you're thankful for the sudden change in tone.

"You don't have to make it sound so lame!" Summer, hits Bodhi's arm playfully, then turns to Poppy, her face expanding into an even bigger grin, if that's even possible. "So...Ari?" she asks, referencing her deduction about Poppy liking Ari from the game last night. You hope to god that she doesn't; you can't imagine a boy coming in between you and your friends.

Poppy just laughs though, hitting Summer on the arm playfully.

"Y/n! Pops!" You hear Manu call, and you look round to see him gesturing for you to line up for the finals.

_________________

Tran and Morehouse are looking scared. Every wave, even the ones where they have priority, they're letting you steal. Not that you feel bad about that - it's a competition. However, you haven't been taking the best sets of waves either - you've been trying to play it safe, like Manu said, but you can't seem to find how not taking any risks will will you any comps. 

Towards the end of the heat, you hear the scores coming in: Poppy's in first, Tran in second, you in third and Morehouse last. Poppy's been completely unstoppable recently; you didn't expect to beat her, and you're glad she's winning, but you need to get second. Otherwise this was all for nothing. Screw whatever Manu said, you think.

You catch the next best wave, feeling the water spraying down on you as you you turn your board around and paddle hard until your arms burn. As much as you wanted to to prove Manu wrong this wave was probably a pretty safe bet and you ride it either way. But you hear your score come in: only a 5.4 - not enough to overtake Tran for second. You smack your fist on the water as the horn to signal the end of the final blows.

 As you paddle into shore,  you see Poppy celebrating her victory; you can't help feeling disappointed under your facade of happiness as you go to congratulate her. Ari's on the shore clapping, and you hear him shout congratulations to Poppy, a real genuine smile spread across his face. 

You set your board down on the sand, taking a seat next to it to watch the boys' heat. 

"Y/n!" you hear Manu call, strolling over to you  - you can see he's still on cloud nine from Poppy's victory. Maybe if you'd taken a harder wave instead of playing it safe, you would have won, you think. But then Manu would reprimand you for that, so you can't win in either situation. "That was a good surf - you should be proud of yourself."

"I came third." you say nonchalantly, to which he just shakes his head. 

"Yeah, but you played to your strengths, got a good score and that's all that matters. The other girls were just stronger today, that's all." he says, giving you a nod then going back to Poppy. 

You watch Marlon getting ready to to head to the starting line, and he shouts back to you.

"Hey Y/n! Aren't you gonna wish me luck?" he asks with a smirk. Sometimes you can't stand that boy. You can't stand the audacity to completely ignore the fact that last night he told us he practically ruined our best friend's year's and expect you not care. You have the urge to punch him, but you know from experience that violence isn't exactly good idea, especially at a competition where you can usually get disqualified, or in your case medal taken off you. 

"I don't want to speak to you right now Marlon." you say, and he doesn't exactly look surprised - maybe he's not so stupid after all, you think.

"I'm sorry for what I told you guys." he says but you're struggling to find any hint of regret in his voice.

"You shouldn't be sorry for the fact that you told us." you reply. "You should be sorry for what you did!" 

He remains silent, no trace of any emotion crossing his face which just makes you even more frustrated. 

"Why did you even do it?!" you ask.

"I...I don't know." he stutters, and you scoff in disbelief. 

"Great. That's great Marlon. Good luck in your heat." you say sarcastically.