Stairways | A Surviving Summer FanFiction

Part 99 - Decode

"Thank you," you say again, thinking how inadequate the words sound for this situation. You lean in again, and he returns the kiss gladly, his mouth quirking upwards in a smile once you've pulled away. "It's amazing."

You run your hand over the smooth body of the board, the absence of wax making your fingers glide beautifully over every change in colour, every shine the surface has. "Is it any good in the water though?" You tease, and Baxter's brow furrows in mock offense.

"What, you think I can only make boards that look nice?"

"Well, I didn't even know you were a shaper until today!" You exclaim.

"There's a lot you don't know about me," he replies, his eyes averting your gaze as he circles the board slowly, until you're on opposite sides. "You could-"

A knock sounds abruptly at the front door, the one which you didn't come through, and a man emerges from a door in the corner - the man who was busy sanding a board when you came in. Your cheeks suddenly flood with embarrassment: how much did he see?

Other than the knock, there's no warning prior to Wren barging through the door. You groan internally as she enters, and Baxter holds out a hand to wave away the man. "Don't worry, it's just my sister." The man nods and pulls a mask over his face as he begins sanding the board again, headphones in his ears.

Wren pauses at the sight of you, looking you up and down before turning to her brother. "Bax, Elo wants you home."

"Why?"

"Don't ask me," Wren folds her arms. "But it sounded urgent so you better get going."

Baxter sighs deeply, dusting his hands off as he turns to the door. "You want to catch up later?" He asks you, and you nod simply, muttering a quick 'yeah' before he's gone, and you're left alone with Wren.

You don't know if she knew you were here, if she planned this, if Elo even wants Bax home or Wren just wants him out of here so she can talk to you herself. But you have no intention of sticking around with the other man in the room to hear you, so you smile awkwardly and start to head out the back entrance.

You reach your bike just as you hear Wren calling your name - she followed you to the back entrance. As you pick your bike up from where you left it resting against the wall, she crosses her arms.

"I just wanted to say," she starts, and you prepare yourself for the onslaught of whatever insults or threats she decides to hurl your way today. But she appears to stutter on her words, searching her mind for the right ones. "Does Baxter...know?"

You wait to see if she's going to continue that very incomplete sentence, but she just waits expectantly for you to answer. "Know what?"

"About your relationship with Ari?"

You shrug. "I don't know. So what if he does?"

"I'm just saying, surfing Stairway is a pretty pathetic way to get someone's attention. Especially when you end up in hospital." She raises an eyebrow, but you don't let her taunts have the desired effect. "That's not the only thing Bodhi's told me about you, anyway. What would Bax say about this stuff?"

You roll your eyes very dramatically. "I don't know, why don't you tell him and then report back to me?"

"I'm sure he wouldn't be too happy about it."

You roll your eyes as you grab the handlebars of your bike and begin to push it to the end of the street, hearing Wren's footsteps behind you. "Fuck off, Wren."

"I'm just looking out for my brother," she holds her hands up defensively.

"Shouldn't you be happy that I'm not dating Ari? Shouldn't you be with him right now instead of coming here and patronizing me?" You exclaim, watching Wren's expression falter.