Winthera (On Hold)

Chapter Eleven

Justin just stood there in all his tanned muscle glory. His bulky arms were crossed over his chest, and a soft breeze passed by, gently lifting his white-blonde hair before landing on his forehead again. A sickeningly perfect Colgate smile dominated his features, and I found myself blushing before I realized he was actually smiling at another girl. She was  wearing a sliver of a bikini and had long, dirty-blonde hair that hung by her waist. She flashed Mr. Perfect over here an equally white smile that put my coffee stained pearlies to shame.

I can't do this.

With a huff, I slammed my book shut to get his attention. He shook his head, causing his crazy soft hair to catch him square in the face.

Nice.

Bikini Girl scrunched up her face like she suddenly wasn't interested anymore, managed to accomplish a perfect sashay even in the surf wind, and started running to catch up with....guess who....another guy. Yeah, I saw that coming. What was hilarious was that her boyfriend was almost twice the size of Justin. I looked up to see a pouty fifteen-year-old attempting to get his blonde mop out of his face. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you would never believe it but this is my life.

Being chased after by my ex while watching him chase after other girls. I don't know who he thinks he is or who's he trying to impress, but it's not working. Like, who does that? I know everyone has their own relationship problems, but mine is probably the most bizzare of them all....I'm just saying.

Once Justin mananged to get his hair back in order, he finally turned his attention over to me. I simply glared at him. He gave me a weak smile and straightened the bottom of his tank, which I was now noticing had a big red lifeguard symbol on the front.

Of course he was a lifeguard. How could he not be?

I mean he's got everything a lifeguard needs to have; a six-pack, perfectly tanned skin, scary white teeth, and sun-bleached hair. But could he swim? When I actually used to talk to him he never mentioned that he swam. Our conversations were mostly based on football. Figures he could considering everyone here in Blue Cove has that skill....well, except for little old me.

"So, like I was saying, didn't expect to find you here," he said.

"And why wouldn't you expect to find me here at the beach on a hot summer day relaxing under an umbrella?" I shot back.

"For your information, its fall. And I said that because I know you hate the ocean," he responded, his hazel eyes scanning the churning waters with his hands planted on his hips. Great. Nothing like pretending you're interested in the safety of beach goers just to make your ex jealous of your hot bod while it sparkled in the sun like Edward Cullen from Twilight.

"For your information I don't care, besides, its hard to tell what season it is in this place when its fricking ninety degrees everyday. Might as well get rid of the terms spring, fall, and winter!" I snarled, mocking him.

"Right, 'cus you would know what a nice summer is in Nebraska when the temperature only went up to sixety degrees...." He scoffed.

I couldn't believe he just said that. I dropped my book and got up from the beach chair, towering up to my full height which wasn't much compared to six foot one over here.

"How dare you insult Nebraska you low-life son of a—"

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhgrgrgurglegrgr!"

I know that sounds like some sort of mutant giving birth to something bigger than it, but trust me, it wasn't. My head whipped around to catch sight of someone splashing in the water. At first it didn't look serious, but at second glance I saw the frightened look on his face and his constant dipping below the surface. Almost immediately, Justin sprinted past me towards the water. In one amazing James Bond move, he nose-dived straight into the crashing surf. I couldn't believe I was standing here seeing him save someone's life. It all seemed too good to be true, like some kind of twisted action movie.

Justin resurfaced a few yards out, past the point where the waves came in. He freestyled the last couple of yards before reaching the drowning boy. I watched as he took him in his arms and slowly swam back to shore. Justin and a little redheaded kid came limping up the beach as everyone clapped. Everyone except me. Two more redheads, who I guessed were his parents, came rushing out of the gathering crowd and wrapped their son in suffocating hugs.

I almost screamed when I felt a wet hand rest on my shoulder.

"Justin what the heck?!"

"What, you're gushing over my performance?" He winked. I gagged.

"In your dreams lover boy! I've told you a thousand times, I don't want to get back together with you! Not now, not ever," I exclaimed. For a second, I thought I saw a hint of hurt on his face. But he overcame it as quick as it had come using that undeniable charm of his.

"What if I need to be told a thousand and one times?" He asked with a mischievous smile.

"Uhck, don't even Justin," I sighed, rubbing my temples.

Suddenly, the most inhuman sound erupted from my stomach.

Gggggrgggllleeerrrrglllleegggggrrrrrrr

"Lunch time?" He asked casually, but I could clearly see he was trying to hold back a laugh.

"Haha very funny," I shot back, my voice drowned in sarcasm.

I moved under the relieving shade of the umbrella once more and began rummaging through the contents of the cooler Claire had brought. I surfaced with a nice cold sandwich of Kentucky Fried Chicken and a can of Coke. Settling in my chair, I opened the tinfoil wrapping and popped the Coke.

"Aren't you gonna get me something?" Justin suddenly piped up. Shit, I didn't even realize he was still there.

"Hmm...I dunno. Maybe if you'll stop being a jerk and bothering me every two seconds, I'll think about it," I countered, rubbing my chin as if I were thinking.

"Done."

We shook hands and started laughing. He sat next to me and I handed him another sandwich and a can of Sprite.

"Aren't you supposed to be on duty or something?" I asked, looking towards the empty lifeguard chair.

"Eh, whatever. Its just a summer job, anyway. Not like I'm getting payed that much," he answered between mouthfuls of chicken.

"So who's gonna take your shift?"

"Me," he said as if it were obvious.

"So you're going to use your Eagle eye vision to keep watch over the whole beach, huh?" I bit back.

He finished off his sandwich while I sat there with my half eaten one and a full can of Coke. Slumping down into the chair, he put his sunglasses on to block out the light and started snoring right away. Yeah, I know, I'm friending the enemy right now. He did a lot of idiotic stuff in the past, even if one of those things happened fifteen minutes ago. And, to be honest, I feel like some of it wasn't entirely his fault. Like that picture I found on Instagram the night before. Poor Justin gets himself into things way beyond his comprehension and ends up getting hurt in the end. Something I tend to do a lot. The point is, Justin and I are a lot more alike than I would've realized, and we need each others help.

I know he'll always be the cocky, arrogant guy I met a few weeks back, but he needs me. As much as I hate to admit it, I think I might need him, too.

Besides, this is usually the part where I draw all over his face with permanent markers....

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This chapter is short, I know, but I really wanted it to be based on the little scene between Justin and Amelie. So, what do you think about it? What do you think about Amelie's little speech at the end? Will she ever warm up to Justin? Please comment :)