You stumble backwards over the threshold of the door, gripping the frame as you watch Poppy and Ari. For some reason you can't seem to take your eyes off them. Suddenly, you hear voices coming up the driveway and you carefully push the door back into place and sprint round the corner. It's Manu and Prawnie.
The last thing you hear before you leave the house is Poppy shouting at her brothers as they interrupt.
You don't feel like getting home fast, so you walk your bike down the road. It's almost dark now, which you're glad about, for you're afraid if it was daytime you might get so incoherently angry at the sun for being so bright when all you feel is rage.
If this is how much Ari values his relationships then you don't want anything to do with him, you think. Except, you really do. So much for thinking you had an easy relationship with him. Gone are the days where you could mock Marlon for his girl troubles. Thinking of Marlon, you pray to god he never finds out about any of this - he'd be bad enough if he knew about you and Ari's relationship before, but now that you've technically been cheated on (can you call it that?), he'd be utterly unbearable.
Your thoughts must have occupied your mind for too long, for you seem to get home within minutes of leaving Poppy's. You throw your bike in the garage, not bothering to place it in the rack, and climb the stairs one by one.
"Y/n! Where have you been?" You hear your mum call up the stairs in Portuguese as you reach the top.
"Nowhere." You reply.
"Nowhere? You better not have been surfing, the conditions tonight are terrible and Manu told
me you guys shouldn't overdo it-" she carries on but you block out the rest as you shut your door.
You wonder if Ari saw you. And if he did does he feel regret? Does he even care? You never even thought there was anything between him and Poppy. You know they've known each other for much longer than you have, but they always just seemed like friends. Suddenly you remember Poppy's tiny confession on the roof in Jackson Bay: she raised her hand slightly when Summer asked if anyone had ever had a crush on anyone sat there.
God, you need to stop thinking about this now. Your mind is too crowded with images of Ari and Poppy, their lips touching as they thought no one could see. You need to sleep. The quarters are tomorrow. Maybe then you can get some answers.
______________________
You're convinced that the image of Ari and Poppy is burned in your mind. It's all you can see as you and Marlon walk down to the club in the morning.
You put your board in the back of the club van, along with your bag and wetsuit, then jump in the backseat. You can hear Poppy talking to Summer outside, but for some reason Bodhi isn't around yet.
You nearly jump when you feel someone slide in next to you.
"Hey, I thought you were coming to Poppy's last night. What happened?"
You don't look round, but you know it's Ari.
"Oh, so you wanted me there?" you snap back.
"Of course I did." he edges closer to you, but there's obvious tension in the air. "Are you okay? You're acting weird."
"I'm fine. Did you have a good time last night then?" You say emotionless.
He hesitates, taking a deep breath. "Actually I wanted to talk to you about something."
You raise an eyebrow, expecting him to confess what happened.
"I think Poppy might have a thing for me."
Your eyes widen, about to mention how Poppy's 'thing' for him may have been fuelled by the fact that he was kissing her last night, and it's probably not a good idea to start talking to someone you've been kissing for the last few weeks about it, but Summer and Poppy jump in the seats in front of you, cutting off the conversation.
You spend the rest of the journey in silence, staring out the window as you go past all the Subtropix decorations and stalls as you near the beach.
Your mind is so cluttered as you wax up your board and you almost miss your cue to line up for the start of your heat.
For this round, you're up against Poppy and Bodhi, which should be pretty tough, but you look down the line and Bodhi is a no show. You nearly turn to ask Poppy where she is but then remember you're annoyed at her or whatever. Also, when you lay eyes on her all you see is her and Ari.
The horn blares, signalling that you need to start paddling out. You're a couple of steps behind the others, however, as you barely hear the horn and only start running when you see the other competitors have started. Focus, you scold yourself. Your mind is elsewhere.
The water seems colder than usual as you paddle over a set until you're past the break. Sheridon's also in the heat, sat on her board a few metres away from you. It's only a few minutes until the next set arrives, the first few waves making your board bob beneath you before the real waves start rolling in.
You take the wave, but you're not concentrating - Sheridon was in priority, and you jump off your board to move out of her way; if you'd caught the wave your score wouldn't even have counted.
But you aren't concentrating. Again. You dive straight in the direction of the shallowest part of the reef. You're not as familiar with this break as you are with the one at Shorehaven, but you've surfed here enough times to know where the dangerous parts are.
You feel the tension in your leg rope increase until it snaps, your board no longer pulling you to the surface. Suddenly, you're pushed down even further, so close to the reef you feel coral cut the sleeve off your wetsuit as you try to steady yourself under the unforgiving waves. But you know you've been under for way too long now. Before you black out, you remember thinking one thing.
This is all Ari's fault.