Stairways | A Surviving Summer FanFiction

Part 38 - Marlon

As you stride along the road leading back to your house, you go over the conversation you're about to have with your mum. Do you act apologetic? Probably. If you go in there with all guns blazing, your mum will probably kick you out again. Part of you hopes she'll feel a little remorse for leaving you out all night, but you never know what she's thinking.

The conversation plays over and over, but that's not the first conversation you have. Just before you reach the turning for your house, you feel a hand on your shoulder and spin around, coming face to face with your brother.

"What the hell, Y/n!? I've been looking for you for ages! I would have thought you'd stayed at Ari's but Mrs Gibson said that she hadn't seen you, so I went to Poppy's..."

"So you didn't know mum locked me out of the house?!" you exclaim; maybe you should have just thrown rocks at his window all night and wait for him to realise you were stranded outside without knowing your crush was going to abandon you on a rock for half the night.

"No! Of course not. If I did I would've let you through my window!" he replies. "I only found out this morning."

You don't really know what to respond to that, so you both just keep walking towards your house at a slow pace, and luckily it seems like Marlon has a lot to ask.

"Mum seems pretty mad at you. What did you run off for?"

"Me and her had a...discussion, outside Anchor Cove." you say begrudgingly.

"Anchor Cove?" he asks, his voice wavering slightly. "What were you doing there?"

"What do you think?" you reply. "Waiting for you."

"Oh." he says quietly, and it goes silent for a few seconds.

"So...did you get in?" you ask tentatively, and Marlon answers quickly, as if he was anticipating the question.

"I don't know yet. But listen Y/n, I've been thinking: I'm not going to try and persuade you to come with me to Anchor Cove if it's not what you want."

"Really?" you say incredulously - it seems out of character for him to be giving up so easily. "That's good. Because I think I've just sworn allegiance or something to Manu and Shorehaven for as long as I live." you say, which makes Marlon chuckle. "Although, I think that'll be immediately broken when we surf...y'know." you say, your tone is slightly more serious - you also know that you'll have to tell Marlon that Ari knows about the pact, and how he's going to try to stop you. Both of you.

"Yeah." Marlon replies. "We haven't talked about that for a while." Maybe because it's been getting closer and closer, you think.

"Yeah, well there's been some...developments." you say tentatively, as Marlon scrutinises you.

"Developments? What kind of developments, Y/n?" he says sharply.

"Mars, do you promise not to overreact?" you say, raising one eyebrow.

"Nope, now tell me, what developments?" he replies briskly.

You take a deep breath, preparing for the onslaught of interrogation questions after you speak. "Last night, I did go to Ari's, and we got into a bit of an argument, and I may have accidentally...told him about Stairway."

"You did what?" Marlon asks quietly, his eyes flitting away.

"I'm sorry, I thought it was the right thing to do at the time-" you ramble in response, but he cuts you off with a sharp breath.

"Y/n, why would that have ever been the right thing to say? You think Ari's just going to keep this to himself?! He won't want you to go; he cares about you! He's not going to let you do something dangerous!"