Stairways | A Surviving Summer FanFiction

Part 28 - Deception

"I can't find him anywhere, Y/n." Summer exclaims, looking frantically around the beach. "His heat's up in a minute and Manu is going insane-"

"Summer, calm down; we'll find him, I promise." you say. "He can't of gone far."

"But, what if he...y'know...panicked." she says in a slight whisper, and you can't help but feel nervous after she says it. If Ari had had another panic attack who knows where he could have got to.

"C'mon." you say, grabbing her arm as you lead her away from the main beach. "If Ari was getting anxious he wouldn't want anyone to know, so he would've gone somewhere with not too many people." you say, trying to sound calm but the waver in your voice suggests otherwise.

You eventually find him, sat on a rock around the side of the beach, resting his arms on his drawn up knees which you can see are shaking. He sees you, then quickly looks away.

You and Summer scramble up the rocks to where he's sitting and you wrap your arms tightly around him instinctively, as if it might hold him together whilst he's so broken. He melts into your embrace but no tears appear on his cheeks as you hold him.

"It happened again, didn't it?" Summer asks, her relieved expression from finding Ari has quickly been replaced with worry and apprehensiveness. Ari doesn't respond to her question, and you release him from your embrace, sitting back on one of the rocks next to Summer.

"I don't know about Y/n, but I'm not exactly cool with being one of the only two people who know about this."

"She's right, Ari." you say. "You need to tell someone - your parents, or-"

"I can't! If I do, my surfing career's over." Ari interrupts. "My parents will never let me back in the water, let alone compete." he takes a breath. "I've just got to...get over it."

"I don't think that's how anxiety works, Ari." Summer says softly.

"You can't keep living your life like this." you say. "What if it happens in the water?"

"It won't." he says adamantly. "I swear."

"You can't be sure!" Summer exclaims. "What if-"

"Alright fine!" Ari cuts in. "I'll tell someone." he pushes himself up onto his feet and jumps down to the sand.

"What, now?" 

"Oh, no, I was gonna finish the comp first." he replies, and you can't help but smile at his commitment - but after this comp, you and Summer were going to make him put himself first for once.

You and Summer take a seat on the main beach and watch as Ari jumps into the water alongside his competitor. 

"You know the more and more he surfs without talking to anyone the worse and worse it's gonna get, right?" Summer mumbles to you, and you nod. 

"I know." 

"If he doesn't tell anyone soon, one of us will - agreed?" Summer says, almost in a demanding tone, but you know she's only doing this because she wants what's best for Ari.

You can't imagine betraying him like that - betrayal probably isn't the right word. You know that Summer's right; you need someone else to know, someone who isn't a clueless teenager, but how would Ari react?

____________________

The day after the 360 is amazingly anti-climactic considering the relief you'd felt that it was nearly over. The stalls and tents at Bells Beach are being taken down, and it seems like everything is going back to normal. You feel back to your best in terms of fitness after the hold down, and the next major comp is about three weeks away, which means you have plenty of time to convince Manu to let you back on the team.

But before that, in just a week's time is Boardriders - a community event where you surf as a team. You'd surfed in it for the last couple of years, and it's your favourite comp by far - so looks like there's a little less time now to convince Manu. 

"Good morning." you say to Marlon and your mum as you walk into the kitchen to grab some breakfast. 

"Are you going to get dressed today, Y/n?" she asks you with a sigh, but you shrug.

"Not yet. I'm fully embracing my no-surfing life." you say, pouring yourself a glass of orange juice. "By staying in bed all morning." 

Your mum rolls her eyes. "I will have words with Manu. It's not fair for you to be suspended - wasn't getting hurt enough punishment?"

"Please don't talk to Manu." you say. "I don't want to look desperate." 

"Oh, by the way we're all going out later, Y/n!" Marlon calls as you're about to head back to your room.

"Since when?" you ask - this is the first you've heard of it, and besides, you'd much rather stay home all day.

"Ari texted me last night." Marlon continues. "Also, you need to get a new board after what happened at the 360." he shrugs. "Be ready by 12." he says, and goes straight past you to his room before you have a chance to respond.

 At 12 o'clock, Marlon bangs on your door, calling for you to hurry up, but you're ready, and his fist nearly connects with your face when you quickly open the door. 

"Where exactly are we going?" you ask as you follow him downstairs.

"Just into town for a bit. Ari and Summer are meeting us there." he says hurriedly.

"Not Poppy and Bodhi?"

"Yeah...they couldn't make it." he mumbles suspiciously as you leave the house.

You take the bus into the main town - it's small, with only a few shops dotted around a tiny town square which is home to nothing but a broken fountain. The town is alongside the coast, so most shops are tourist surf stores, mixed in with a couple of cafes and grocery stores.

It's still actually pretty busy, mostly filled with tourists after the 360 event. You and Marlon sit on a bench near the fountain, but it's not too long before you see Ari and Summer approaching.

"'Sup guys?" Summer says with a smile. 

"Hey America." your brother responds, and Ari smiles at you, before you exchange a quick 'hi'.

"Anyway, we're off." Summer says as Marlon stands up next to her, a smirk creeping onto his face.

"Wait, what?" Ari asks, mimicking your thoughts exactly.

"Yeah, me and Brazil are off to the beach, baby!" Summer exclaims.

"What? You said we were hanging out together!" you say to your brother, who grins wryly.

"Yeah, well, you two are." Marlon replies with a shrug as him and Summer start to walk backwards in the direction of the beach. "Have fun!" he calls back as Summer laughs.

You turn to face Ari, who sighs. "Looks like we've been set up."