Together

70. Mind Games

You've been on my mind
And I'll waste my time
Til you lift me off the floor and love me again
Oh, yeah
Til you lift me off the floor and love me again
Oh, yeah
-Cigarettes After Sex

Kiara is standing on the shore with Shoupe when they spot JJ making a move for his wave. He's been extremely choosey with his waves today, clearly wanting to make a name for himself in the second round.

The surfers had decided to move farther out into the surf to get bigger waves. It made for a more intense competition but visibility for the spectators was a little more challenging. Kiara can't really see anything significant super clearly, but she strains her eyes and lifts herself on her toes to see over the crashing waves on the shore anyway, not wanting to miss his run.

JJ has a bright green arm band, and she sees him making his decision, paddling out a ways when he stops short. She then watches Daniel's orange arm band emerge, taking the wave instead. She scrunches her brows in confusion. That was strange. It's not like JJ to back out of taking a wave like that.

Daniel walks back to shore after his run, smiling ear to ear at the crowd as they clap and cheer for him. He did really well, Kiara couldn't deny that. Still, it felt weird. Not the good kind either. That was JJ's wave for sure, what happened?

She looks back at Shoupe and catches him narrowing his eyes at the other competitor for a second before turning back to watch JJ. She obviously wasn't the only one suspicious of whatever exchanged took place out there.

Daniel comes up to her and Shoupe, but directs his small talk to her. He seemed like a nice enough guy when he introduced himself before the first round. She had gotten to know a couple of the competitors that JJ was frequently up against but she couldn't say they had frequent conversations. Daniel was the only one to go out of his way to talk to her directly. She didn't think anything of it and she didn't think JJ did either.

Until now.

JJ completes his run but the score doesn't reflect how good he actually is. That was the poorest he's ever done, having had to just take the next wave to get a run in before he ran out of time. It's just enough to push him through though, so he will at least see tomorrow through.

Daniel took his leave just before JJ came up to them, not giving him so much as a nod of acknowledgement. JJ glares at his back as he approaches.

Kie can see JJ's pissed and assumes it's because he didn't do well. She tries to put on a happy face and goes to give him a hug, but he barely has his arm around her when he asks with an irritated tone,

"What the hell was he saying to you?"

Kie steps back, shaking her head like she didn't hear him right, glancing at Shoupe who also has a puzzled expression on his face. "What?"

"Daniel," JJ specifies with a nod in his direction. "What were you talking about?"

"Um, nothing?" She puts her hands on her hips, starting to feel defensive due to not knowing why he's giving her such a suspicious attitude. "He was just talking about his run and saying hey."

JJ scoffed and nodded his head. He huffs out a breath. "Yeah, whatever," he grumbles.

"Okay, why are you pissed at me?" Kie asks.

"I'm not, let's just go," he says sharply, avoiding her eye. Her mouth drops open and she feels heat raising to her cheeks. She doesn't like being dismissed that way.

"Really? Cause it seems like it."

"Yeah, really," he says, irritated.

"Alright, alright," Shoupe intervenes. "Let's just head back," he says decidedly. Being in the middle of a teenage spat isn't his favorite thing.