Together

48. Fifteen more minutes

But you'll never be alone
I'll be with you from dusk til dawn
I'll be with you from dusk til dawn
Baby I'm right here
I'll hold when things go wrong
I'll be with you from dusk til dawn
I'll be with you from dusk til dawn
Baby I'm right here
-ZAYN, Sia

The days after JJ won the surfing competition were the beginning of a long next couple of weeks. Ben had been talking with JJ and Shoupe about JJ being on the team at San Diego State and said he was talking to their admissions department about JJ being offered a scholarship for his participation. Apparently, Ben had the authority to offer such a deal, but it would come with certain conditions.

The first being that JJ would commit to San Diego State and stop communication with other recruiters. He would also have to continue his high school career as a student and make good enough grades to meet the required GPA for admissions into San Diego State. He would be a student-athlete, with the word student coming first for a reason. The final requirement being that he would continue to participate in surf competitions throughout the early fall so that Ben could see he was serious and that he would get into the competition mindset.

Ben didn't consider the Outer Banks Surf Competition a fluke. JJ had talent and his win was likely not going to be a one off, but he needed JJ to start thinking of himself as a competitor and get used to the fan fair that comes with it. Participating in competitions would help him settle into that new environment.

JJ said yes to the conditions immediately. He'd do whatever he had to do to make this work out. He was going to get out of OBX and make moves that got him places. Do things that were the right choices. Things that would make his life better.

Didn't have to tell him how different his mindset was from not even a year ago. The change wasn't one he minded though. He didn't want to fulfill the piece of shit legacy that his dad set up for him. He wanted to do what Shoupe said he could. Prove everybody wrong.

Kie hadn't made any commitments to a specific school and truthfully, she and JJ both still had to apply before either of them could get excited about it. JJ doubted she wouldn't get into any school she wanted though. She was no Pope, no one was, but he knew her grades were still solid. Her parents didn't let up on that at any point in her high school career, unlike JJ, whose father only cared that he got there so the school wouldn't be bothering him about truancy.

Ben had to return to San Diego before the beginning of the school year, but because he had found exactly what he was looking for in JJ, he extended his trip up until the day he was supposed to be back in order to mentor him a bit.

He had given JJ specific competitions to enter, really only two more left until the end of the season, and wanted to get JJ prepared for them. He wouldn't be able to be his coach at the competitions, or even go to them honestly. He had his own team to coach through the season and they needed to come first.

Still, he had JJ out at the crack of dawn nearly every day, having him get in shape and practicing.

Kie didn't think too much of it, aside from how tired it seemed JJ was at the end of the day. He was used to surfing, but Ben was definitely putting him through the hoops to get him into more serious shape. He wanted him to have more stamina and endurance. Wanted him to be able to fight for every good wave and handle it if he crashed.

She also saw how much JJ loved it. His physical energy drained but mentally he was excited. The aches felt good knowing they served a purpose. He would come into the Wreck in the early morning after being out on the beach with Ben for  hours, slumping into the bar stool and asking tiredly for a glass of water and as much food as she could pile on his plate, ready to refill his depleted energy.