ON THE DAY of the surfing finals, I find myself at the opposite end of town, loitering in front of Lancer's martial arts dojo.
"What brings you here, female Hayden?" Lancer says as he invites me in, walking us past a room full of kids who are in the middle of a kickboxing lesson with a different instructor until we reach the main office.
"Female Hayden?" I question.
"I'm testing out new nicknames," he explains, pushing the office door open and gesturing for me to enter first. "You don't like it?"
"Not even slightly," I say as I walk in. "Please don't call me that."
Lancer grins. "If it makes you feel better, I also call Hayden 'male Harvey'?"
"And I'm sure he's as thrilled about it as I am."
"Fine," Lancer concedes. "Moving on, what brings you to the White?"
"Kombucha," I say, dumping a hefty glass jar of the fermented amber-coloured liquid on the table. "Courtesy of Aunt Mila. Mom heard your dad has gotten into the stuff recently, so she wanted you guys to try some of the homemade one Aunt Kamila made us brink back with us."
"Nice. Tell her I said thanks. Can't say I'm a fan, but Dad will probably love this," Lancer says, lifting the jar up to inspect it. "By the way, you come alone? Or is Hunt around here somewhere?"
"He's been running errands all morning," I say. "Though right now, he's probably on his way to the surf finals. You're going too right?"
"Yep. You want a lift I'm guessing?"
"If you don't mind."
"Even if I did mind, I'm sure you would've found a way to crawl into the back of my truck if I refused."
"What can I say?" I joke. "I can be resourceful."
Lancer rolls his eyes in amusement. He sets down the kombucha and goes round the table to sit in his boss's chair. "Anything else?"
I hesitate. "Lance, is it okay if I ask you a question?"
Lancer is swivelling in the seat. He stops to arch an eyebrow at me. "Sure, I only charge after 6 pm."
My forehead puckers, but I decide to ignore his comment and continue on. "How do you think my brothers would react if I liked and was sort-of-maybe going out with one of their friends?"
Lancer's brow arches higher. "Well, Harvey, I'm flattered. But I hope you realise I'm almost four years older than you, and I see you as an infant." He pauses, looking up to the ceiling as he muses. "Baby sister? Baby infant? No, infant sister. I'm afraid I just see you as an infant si—"
I aim a withering look his way. "It's not you."
Lancer smirks. "I know, I'm just toying with you, Harv," he says, getting up. "It's Finn, right?"
"Possibly."
"I'll take that as a yes," Lancer replies. "My opinion, that shouldn't even be an issue. Hunt and Hayden have gone out with your friends plenty of times, so what's stopping you from doing the same? Hell, Hayden is with Gia now, isn't he? And she's your best friend. Aren't you close with Laney too?"
"A little, I guess, yeah."
"So that settles it. If either of them tries to complain, hit them. Hard," Lancer says. "Or better yet, let me hit them."
"I get the feeling you just really want a reason to hit someone."
Lance sighs. "You think being an instructor would be fun, but really, it just involves allowing people to beat you up half the time. Or maybe that's just me. Teagan keeps putting me with the toddlers."
I snort. But before Lancer can begin to regale me with the woes of his workplace like I know he's dying to, there is a knock on the office door prompting us both to turn to it.
To my surprise, the person on the other side happens to be Finn's younger sister, Leah. Dressed in her kickboxing attire with a phone pressed to her ear, she steps into the room, casting me a smile before directing her gaze at Lancer.
"Lancer, is it okay if I borrow a pen?" she asks in her strong British accent, distancing her phone from her ear.
"Sure thing," Lance replies. He jerks his head in the direction of the bureau. "Help yourself to whatever. Just be sure to return anything you use — Warren gets a bit neat-freaky over these things."
"Thanks," Leah says as she pads into the room to the table. She raises her phone up again to resume her conversation with whoever is on the other side. "Yeah, Dad. I've got a pen now. I'll write it..."
Her voice trails off as she looks around the table, picking up a pack of post-it notes and holding it up to Lancer in a silent request. He nods wordlessly, granting her permission to write in it. She mouths her thanks before continuing.
"Yeah, Dad, you were saying?" she says. Her voice drops as she repeats whatever information her father relays to her, humming in confirmation as she scribbles it down. "Okay, got it. I know, I know. I'll tell Finn. Call them up before going back to England, right. No, I don't know if he's packed yet, but the flight isn't till next week, right? Mm, I'll ask when I see him, I'm still at kickboxing."
England? Flight? Next week...?
Leah rounds up her conversation with her father, saying her goodbyes before lifting her head up to apologise once more to us for the intrusion. She thanks Lancer a second time, then takes her post-it note and leaves the room.
I stare after her helplessly, not knowing how to begin to process the thousand thoughts and emotions running through my head right now. Leah's words continue to replay in my mind, even as Lancer stirs from beside me to speak again.
"Look at the time," he sighs, pushing his back off the wall he is leaning on and slipping his phone into his back pocket. "Hey Harv, I have a couple things to round up here. I'm supposed to be training a newbie, so I should probably check on that first, but I should be done soon," he says. "Do me a favour and ask Finn's sister if she wants a lift too, will you? Might as well, if we're all heading to the same place."
It takes an extra second to interpret what he is saying, given the state of my mind, but I nod in agreement, forcing a quiet thanks out of my dried-up throat as I trudge out the door he opens for me.
All this time, I've been preparing for the possibility of Finn leaving, but next week? I didn't imagine it would be so soon.
It feels like a kick in the guts.
><{{{(•>
It feels like an even harder kick to the guts when I find Finn at the beach half an hour before the official start of today's competition.
His eyes light up and he breaks into a wide grin, hurriedly weaving through the crowd to meet me in the middle of the sandy plane. The look on his face is enough to make me momentarily forget the feeling of a hard, steel-toed boot ramming full-force into my abdomen and knocking me breathless.
For now, Finn is here and that's the only thing that is important.
"You're here," Finn says. He takes a hold of my hands and squeezes them. "I'll have to go to the competitors' area soon, but I'm glad I was able to see you first."
"I'm glad I was able to make it on time," I reply, squeezing his hands back. "Oh, that reminds me. I got you something from the White."
I let go of his hands to dig into the mini crossbody bag slung against my front.
"Posh earplugs?" Finn questions upon spotting the item in my hands.
"Surf earplugs. I don't know if you still plan on surfing much after today's competition, but the weather's getting cold and the water temperature's probably dropped too, so I figured they'd come in handy. Surfer's ear and all that."
Finn accepts the accessory with a soft smile. "Thanks, Harvey."
He looks like he plans to say more before something behind us catches his eye, causing him to take half a step back from me.
"You haven't left yet?" I hear Hayden ask from behind me.
Ah.
I take a step to the side, rotating to see the rest of our friends and family approach us at their own leisurely pace. They must be coming back from Lancer's truck.
"I'm just about to go now," Finn answers.
"Good luck again!" Gia cheers, pulling out a familiar banner from behind her back. "You can Finnish this!"
"You still have that poster?" Hayden groans. Gia lightly thwacks him with it, sticking her tongue out at him.
Finn chuckles. He sends everyone a wave goodbye as we echo words of encouragement before he leaves.
"Come on," Gia loops arms with me, "we found a good spot to watch the competition from."
With mixed emotions, I tear my eyes away from Finn's retreating silhouette and allow Gia to tug me towards the spectators area.
><{{{(•>
Out of the 60 people who made it to the semifinals last week, only 20 surfers were selected to advance to the finals.
White Peak's Annual Surfing Competition has proved a financial success for our town, and to make the finals last longer — and give attendees more time to check out the event's sponsors, today's competition has been divided into three sets of elimination rounds.
The event starts with five heats of four, with the highest two scores advancing to the next round.
"Looks like there are a lot of good people out there today," Jay comments, folding his arms over his chest. The last surfer we just watched received a score of straight 9.0's and a perfect 10.0 from one of the judges.
"Well, it's the finals, they're bound to all be good from here on," I reply with a shrug. I take a cautious peek at Jay. Noticing my stare, he smiles a little before turning away. It has been a little awkward between us since Friday, but not unbearable. We're slowly reversing away from that line neither of us are willing to cross.
"Finn's heat has got a lot of top surfers in it too," Hunter says. "I remember the Quinn guy from last week."
"Reeney Quinn?" Lancer questions. "Isn't he a professional?"
"I thought professionals weren't allowed to compete in this?" Leah asks, tilting her head up in confusion.
"He retired a few years back," Hunter explains.
"Yeah, I think it's three now, right Harvey?" Hayden looks to me. I nod. "The rules only say you can't have competed professionally within 12 months, so it leaves room for a lot of people to enter."
"It's Finn's turn again," Gia announces, patting Hayden's shoulder anxiously. "Shh, everyone watch."
Watching Finn surf fills me with an indescribable amount of pride. He has come so far since the beginning of the summer, before I started to help coach him. Regardless of the outcomes of this summer, I'm happy this is something we were able to accomplish together, reaching to this stage of the competition.
Finn deftly manoeuvres his surfboard onto the upcoming swell, carving his way through the tube and cleanly coming out the other side. It's a decent move, but the wave breaks earlier than anticipated, leaving no room for a finishing trick to bring up his overall score. As a result, his calculated mean score comes to 6.8.
"Where's Finn hoping to place again?" Hayden asks me.
"His goal was to try to get into the top 10."
"So he has to come first or second in his heat?" Hunter inquires.
"He'll get a second chance to raise up his score," I say defensively, "I believe in him."
"Aw, look at Harvey, living out her unhealthy competitive streak vicariously through her student," Lancer teases. I send a glare in return.
When Finn's second chance comes again, we all fall quiet, our gazes fixed on him as he paddles towards the oncoming wave.
"The wave's coming quite high," Jay breaks the silence.
'Quite high' is an understatement. The swell is almost double Finn's height.
"Will he be able to get in?" Gia wonders.
I'm too focused on Finn to reply. Having gained momentum, Finn performs a steep drop down the face of the wave causing me to hold my breath. There is a white flurry of foam spitting as he swerves on his board, using his front foot to power up the wave vertically till he hits the lip. In milliseconds, he's twisted round again, leaning forward on the nose of the surfboard as he dives dramatically towards the bottom of the wave without losing momentum.
"YES, FINN!" Hunter pumps his fist as Finn completes the off-the-lip trick, and I jump on the spot excitedly. We break into whoops and cheers as the scores come in.
Leah lets out a high-pitched squeal, but immediately clasps her hands over her mouth as if surprised that sound came from her.
I turn my eyes back to Finn. It seems he's trying to attempt a final turn in before the wave dissolves. He begins to power up the wave again, but this time a swell coming from a different direction abruptly crashes with his, yanking him off his board and pushing him underwater.
It's okay, the judges have already given their scores. He's through to the next round anyway.
I watch, waiting for Finn to resurface from the current.
Seconds pass. More waves rise and crash. Bright aquamarine swells that continually grow in force and power, towering over the ocean and swallowing everything in its path whole. The next group of surfers swim to set up the line up for their heat.
"Wait, guys," Gia says, bringing a cease to the celebrations. "Shouldn't Finn have come up by now?"
That's what I am wondering too. My stomach starts to feel queasy. The nausea I have been trying to suppress from the moment I stepped foot on this beach threatens to burble out.
Finn's board resurfaces sans Finn, bobbing up and down on the surface of the choppy water.
We fall dead silent. Silent enough for the crackly bleats from the overhead tannoys to begin to resemble real words.
My breathing thins. I try to piece together the few words I can make out. Possible rip current. Critical. Lifeguard dispatched.
A minute passes. Then another. Still no sign of Finn.
Something is wrong.
><{{{(•>
Time seems to flow differently from that point on.
I watch as Finn gets fished out the water and transported back to shore. The crowd that clusters around him is cleared out and a medic comes to his aid.
My feet move of their own accord. And later, I realise I am not alone.
I hurry across the beach to the medic zone, terrified out of my mind of what to expect when I arrive. I don't know how long I hold my breath until the magic words are said which allow me to breathe out a sigh of relief:
He's okay.
The medic holds a flashlight level with Finn's eyes, swinging the light between his irises before moving to test his other reflexes.
Finn is okay. Alive and alert. Sitting upright on a folded-out stretcher bed with a towel draped over his shoulders, looking a little overwhelmed by the way we clamour over him.
"Is he really okay?" Hunter asks the first aider. "Is there really nothing wrong with him? Are you sure this check-up will be enough?"
"He may have a slight concussion due to the force of the wave that knocked him under, but it is nowhere near fatal," the first aider replies while attending to Finn. "He can receive a full medical check up if he wishes after the competition, but from my professional opinion, he should be fine."
"After the competition? Is it really still safe for him to compete?" Hunter questions.
"Yeah, Finn, are you really sure you're up for competing again?" Hayden says with worry in his tone. "A surf competition is nothing to risk your life over."
"That's true," Hunter concurs. "Your well-being is more important. No one would think any less of you if you dropped out now."
"Plus you've qualified for top ten, haven't you?" Hayden adds. "There's no need going on."
"Except..." Jay speaks up in a regretful tone, "according to the commentators, if Finn drops out now, then the runner-up in the heat advances on to the next round and takes the tenth spot."
Finn's shoulder's droop. Hayden and Hunter go quiet.
I feel a hand slip in mine, squeezing it in a comforting way.
It's Gia.
She lowers her voice to whisper to me, "Are you okay?"
Her eyes are worried, searching me for a sign that I'm on the verge of a breakdown. I know what she's thinking. Finn's wipeout must bring back the bad memories of that day. She's worried it will trigger another panic attack. It's the same reason why Hayden and Hunter are overreacting now. The thought of Finn ending up like me or worse frightens them more than anything.
But one look at Finn and I know the medic is right. Finn isn't visibly injured, and his check up showed no signs of cerebral damage either. Surfing may be dangerous, but White Peak is hardly Hawai'i. The chances of dying at any of the surf spots on our island are relatively low.
The medic closes his first aid kit and stands up. "Your friend is right. You'll lose out on tenth place if you don't compete, but it's entirely up to you. Whatever you do decide, just inform the beach marshal or any of the assistants and they'll be able to sort out everything."
"Okay. Thanks," Finn murmurs before the medic walks away.
All is quiet once more as Jay stretches a hand out to Finn, helping to pull him up to his feet.
I feel Gia squeeze my hand again, and I realise I never replied back.
"I'm fine," I whisper, glimpsing sideways to see Gia's tense muscles finally relax.
For once, it's the truth. I am fine. Strangely, instead of my own near fatal accident at my last surf competition, this moment reminds me of my parents' words back in Uncle Mani's house, after Noelani rescued me from drowning.
It was the most somber I had ever seen Mom and Dad. I remember feeling guilty, knowing I had caused that.
But then Mom spoke. "Do you still like surfing?"
I had been surprised then. That was the last thing I was expecting to here from either of them. But as I thought over her question, recounting all the moments with Finn from this summer, I realised that even though I am not able to do it myself, I still enjoy surfing.
And so, I replied. "Yes, I think I do."
"You're sure you're still passionate?" Dad had said. "It's okay, if you're not. We don't want you to think we're pushing you into this."
I considered this. Even though I am not surfing now, I couldn't imagine shutting it out my life completely. The thought was unfathomable. "It's not that. I'm still passionate," I answered firmly.
"So what are you afraid of?" Dad continued.
That was harder to answer. What was I afraid of? The water. The sea. Getting into another accident. Drowning. It took a bit longer to give my parents this answer but they were able to extract the meaning of my silence.
"Do you know what the best thing about fears are Harvey?" Mom had said. "They can be overcome."
Having noticed the blank look on my face, my father expanded on her words. "I know right now it may seem impossible that one day you'll suddenly be back to normal, and most likely it won't work that way. It's a lot of baby steps. Taking things one hurdle at a time. The most important thing is making sure you don't stay stagnant."
"Stagnant?" I questioned.
"Dwelling in the same point. In the misery and fear of that moment," Dad clarified.
"Bad things happen, Harvey." Mom's voice was gentle and soft, her eyes never broke contact with mine. "Bad things always happen, but the only way we can forget about them is by allowing good things to happen after. Don't let yourself be defined by your nightmares. Be guided by your dreams. Be motivated by what you love, rather than hindered by what you fear."
Finn takes the towel off his shoulders and begins to fold it, setting it down on the stretcher he had been sitting on minutes ago.
"Are you going to do it?" Leah asks her brother. She latches onto his wrist before he can take another step forward.
Finn looks conflicted.
"I don't know," he admits. "I guess I shouldn't. Or should I?" He pushes a hand through his hair. "There's still two more rounds left, and I can't even guarantee I'll make it past the next heat, but if I don't try then I'll lose out on even tenth. Is it worth the risk? Maybe you guys are right. It would be better if I just stop here. I..."
Finn throws me a helpless look.
I take a step toward him. "Do you still like surfing?"
His brows draw together. "Well, yes. I—Of course."
"Good," I say. "Now, do you think you have a real shot at getting more than 10th place? Anything. Even ninth."
Finn pauses to deliberate. "I think so. I don't know. I want to try. I think I could definitely make it to the top 5. Maybe. I've come all this way — and you've wasted all this time helping me. I don't know if I can give up after our deal. But what if Hayden and Hunter are right?"
From this point on, Finn begins to babble as the panic sets in. I place a hand on his arm to help calm him down but he barely notices.
"They make us sign forms so they aren't held legally responsible for any fatal injuries. What if I'm the fatal injury they make people sign off on? I was lucky this time, and I don't want to disappoint you, or anyone of you guys but what if—"
I sneak an hand around the back of Finn's neck and place my other on his opposite shoulder, using him as a support to push myself onto my toes as I pull his head towards me and seal our lips together.
Finn's words die at the back of his throat. He returns the kiss instinctively. His eyes flutter to a close and his hands lower to grip my waist as I adjust my arms around his neck to deepen the kiss.
Something must have finally clicked because he pulls away from me, eyes bulging in alarm when Hayden releases a choked out noise and Hunter practically screams in objection.
I keep my arms looped around Finn's neck to keep his eyes focused on me.
"But what if it all works out and there's nothing to worry about?" I complete his sentence for him.
The panic in his blue-grey eyes melts away. "Harvey..."
"I believe in you, Finn. If you think you can do it, I know you can. Don't worry about disappointing me or living up to anyone's expectations. If you love surfing, you should go and catch your wave." I spare a side glance at my brothers. "It's either that, or dealing with overprotective hypocrites 1 and 2 over here."
"I didn't say anything!" Hayden protests.
"You didn't have to," Gia remarks drily.
I untangle my arms from Finn. He lets out a chuckle despite himself as he glances around us, but his expression abruptly shifts as he faces me again.
"Hunter," he murmurs, "I'm really sorry, but you can kill me later."
To my surprise, he cups my face in his palms and presses a final kiss to my lips. It's deep and desperate, like he's trying to draw up all his courage to do the impossible in eight seconds. He whispers a 'thank you' onto my lips as we pull apart, then hurries out of sight before anyone can so much as comment on what just happened.
Hunter makes an even louder, unintelligible noise of protest and I overhear Hayden bickering with Jay and Gia about how he's an idiot for not noticing something between me and Finn before this moment. And amidst the chaos, Finn's rapidly distancing figure turns around to throw me a final grin, a last conformation that he plans on going for it.
"What's he grinning at now?" Hunter glowers. Finn quickens his pace.
I clasp a hand to my mouth to stifle my laughter.
><{{{(•>
For the next round of the finals, the remaining ten contestants are randomly pitted against each other, surfing in heats of two. Whoever amasses the higher score at the end of the heat is able to advance to the next round whereas the person with the lower score gets disqualified.
In a way, it's more daunting. Though all talented enough to be worthy of their spots in the finals, the skill levels ranges wildly among the top 10 finalists. There are some like Finn who are amateurs surf enthusiasts that have never competed professionally a day in their lives, however there others of all ages who may have entered the competition during a break from surfing competitively, or perhaps had recently retired, such as White Peak's resident surf celebrity, Reeney Quinn. Getting pitted against the wrong person too early could ruin your chances of gaining a higher title.
"Harvey? Finn will be okay, won't he?" Leah asks me.
I turn to Finn's sister to reply with the mantra I've been repeating in my head all this while: Finn can make it through this round. But then I notice the expression on her face and I realise that's not what she's asking. By 'okay' she means safe.
Is Finn really safe out there?
If I'm being honest, not more today than any other day this whole summer.
With a weak smile, I assure Leah, "He'll be okay."
I revert my attention back to the sea where Finn and his opponent are lining up for their heat to begin. Fortunately, they are evenly matched. The sea has calmed down a little, producing a set of waves in which Finn has no problem in finessing his way through.
With little difficulty, Finn manages to attain the higher score and we break out into a round of applause, cheering him with loud hoots. Even Hunter, who spent the last half an hour grumbling about how Finn could have been 'honest' with him about our relationship, looks ecstatic to discover he's made it through to the final round.
"COME ON, BRIT BOY! YOU CAN DO THIS!" he shouts in encouragement even though there is no chance Finn can hear us from over here.
For the last round, the final five surfers are to compete independently in the same heat for the rankings of 1st to 5th. It baffles me why they couldn't have organised it like a real surf competition which usually ends in a stand-off between the top two surfers, but when I make this complaint, Lancer replies:
"It's for the suspense, isn't it?" he says. "No way of telling where everyone will place until the very last moment."
The wind picks up in speed, causing the waves to grow to double their heights than in the last heat. It's not a problem from the more experienced surfers, but I find my breath catching in my throat when it's Finn's turn to surf. He only has two chances at picking a good wave, with his best score of the two determining his overall position.
As the wave begins to break, Finn begins to paddle towards it. The swell rises, and the wave begins to crash into the flat water leaving a line of white foam, but Finn has yet to pop up his board.
"Why isn't he getting up?" I murmur.
After a few moments, Finn finally stands on his board to attempt the wave, but it's too late. He manages to catch the end of the wave, riding a few seconds on the whitewater.
My shoulders fall.
"That would've been a good wave," Hayden comments.
"Must have been the nerves," Jay says. "That one was a lot like the one he surfed before. He was probably afraid of wiping out again at the end."
"Yeah," I respond quietly.
We watch in silence as the rest of the surfers line up for their second wave, feeling motivated when some luck out, performing worse than last time, then feeling completely demotivated when others outdo themselves and manage to increase their scores.
Finn is last in the heat to surf, and I am a bundle of nerves when it's his turn again.
It doesn't matter, Harvey. Whatever he scores is okay. He's already in the top ten. There's no more pressure.
"This wave looks promising," Hayden says in a hopeful tone.
The sun glimmers on the crest of the blue wave as it continues to rise. A misty spray spits as the wave breaks, forming a hollow tube inside.
"Come on, Finn," I urge. "Just paddle. Don't pull back."
"Go! Go! Go!" Hunter chants.
We watch with bated breaths as Finn advances with determined strokes. He seamlessly pops up on his board, and enters the barrel with ease, gliding on the wave face in sync with the rise of the swell. He disappears out of sight for a few seconds, a hazy figure behind a shower of blue, fully concealed by the curl's lip. Upon exiting the wave, he finishes off his manoeuvre with a layback snap, sending a spectacular spray of water as he abruptly changes trajectory on his board.
The crowd goes wild and the applause is deafening.
My heartbeat accelerates as I turn to the judging panel, mentally adding up his score.
I let out an excited scream, turning to hug Gia before I am enveloped in Hunter's arms who screams loudly into my ear.
"He's done it!"
"Yes, Finn!" Hayden cheers, joining the group hug. We end up all piling together all screaming on the top of our lungs.
"Wait!" I hear Leah cry. "What's going on? Where did Finn place!"
"Third!" I shout. "He came third!"
Leah joins our screaming, feeding off the giddy energy that surrounds us as the overhead tannoys announce the official results of the competition to the audience.
><{{{(•>
The celebration continues when Finn returns to the beach with a thousand cameras flashing all at once. Finn and other the top two finalists are directed to a podium, where they are given medals and oversized cheques with the amount each surfer had received written across the giant white rectangular cards.
After a few more pictures, and a couple interview questions from the reporters swarm around the podium, Finn is allowed to join our group again, where he is swallowed in another embrace.
Not long after, an official reporter who is a member of the event staff approaches us to ask to take photographs of Finn with his board and conduct a short interview. I offer to go along with Finn for an excuse to have some alone time before Hunter realises he's supposed to be mad at him.
The interview doesn't last long, but something the reporter says makes me second guess myself. To me, Finn getting third place in local competition as an amateur among semi-professionals and retirees is a big deal — but that might not be the same for him.
"Are you really happy with third?" I ask him when the reporter leaves.
Finn raises a brow. "Are you kidding me? Of course. Without your help I don't think I would've even placed in the top five at all," Finn says. "Sure the five grand would've been cool, but who can say no to fifteen hundred pounds?"
"It's dollars," I can't help but correct.
Finn rolls his eyes. "Fifteen hundred dollars. Whatever. Do you still want to split? I did offer to compensate you for your time."
"I'm sorry, Finn, you're great and I like you, but just because I'm your girlfriend doesn't mean I'm going to reject my 10 percent."
A smile tugs at Finn's lips. He steps closer, taking my hands in his. "Girlfriend?"
Heat crawls up my neck, flushing my cheeks pink. "Uh, um—" I mumble. I didn't realise when the word slipped out.
"No, I like it," Finn says. "I really like you, Harvey. Of course I want you to be my girlfriend. But," his smile falters, "I think there's something we have to discuss first."
Finn tries to take his hands out of mine, but I grip them hard, keeping him in place.
"No! Wait," I say. "I already know. You're going back to England in a week."
"You know?"
"We can make this work," I hurriedly persist. "I mean, I know the odds are low with long distance — but there's no harm in trying. As long as we try to keep in contact it shouldn't be too difficult. There're video calls and with social media and all that." Finn's brows furrow. "But... if you don't want to try long distance, I'm okay with that too," I tell him honestly. "We can just try to make the most of the time we have left together."
Finn straightens his stance. He secures his grip on my hands and his head tilts to the side.
"Well, I'm up for all that but— why are you making it seem like I'll be gone forever? It's just two weeks."
"It's just— what?"
"Two weeks." Finn's eyes shift upwards momentarily. "Ten days to be exact, I think. Didn't you know?"
"I... what? Hold on a minute." I pull a hand away to massage my temple.
"I missed my GCSE results day," he explains, "so my results got mailed to my grandparents' place instead. Plus I've still got a few other things to sort out with my secondary school, and 'cause we moved so suddenly and all, my dad's got some things to handle with his company. I don't know the details about that, but I'm going back same time he is."
"And then you're coming back."
"Yes. A fortnight from today," he confirms. "But why did you think I was moving back to England? Is that why you were so apprehensive about us?" Finn wears a half smile. "I'm not so irresponsible to keep chasing after you if I planned on disappearing a few weeks down the line."
Why did I think Finn was moving back to England?
"I'm not... I don't know. When you first moved next door we thought you guys were just tourists, and when I heard you were leaving, I just assumed— I guess now that I think about it, it doesn't make total sense but— oh, thank God."
I throw my arms around Finn's neck, sighing in relief as I hug him with all my might.
"You're not leaving forever," I breathe. "You're really not leaving forever."
Finn's arms slowly come around me, squeezing me tight. "I'm really not leaving forever," he repeats.
I stay in his arms with my head rest on his shoulders until I hear the sound of new footsteps approaching.
"Here they are!" Gia says.
"Harv, is this what you call an interview?" Hayden asks.
I notice Leah trekking a little way behind them with Finn's massive cheque tucked underneath her arm.
"Alright guys," Hunter says tiredly, "break it up. I'm trying to be a cool older brother, but there is only so much I can take."
"Hunt, since when have you been a cool older brother?" I joke, though I let go of Finn and leave a sizeable gap between us that won't give my brother heart problems later in life. "Plus Lancer said I should punch you if you complained about me and Finn being together."
Lancer gasps. "I said no such thing. Children these days."
"Congrats again, Finn," Jay says, coming up to fist-bump him, "you killed it out there."
"He did, didn't he?" Lancer says enthusiastically, pumping a fist into the air and whooping to overcompensate for the death glare Hunter is now shooting him. "Whoop! Whoop! Celebratory party at the Macklers!"
That causes Hunter to brighten up.
"Wait, no," I say. "Lance. Don't encourage him."
"It's too late, Harv," Lancer tells me, "the party train has left the station."
Lancer places his hands on my shoulders and directs us back to the main beach while Hunter begins to discuss plans on what sort of party we should throw, insisting that it should be bigger than the small gathering of last time. And though verbally I complain all the way to the car park, there is a big, unabashed grin on my face.
White Peak's Annual Surfing Competition has come to an eventful end, with Finn knocking all our expectations out the water. The summer is coming to an end, but Finn isn't leaving for good, and it turns out 'complicated' may not be all that complicated after all.
Be motivated by what you love, rather than hindered by what you fear.
I couldn't think of a truer message. Although I haven't been able to miraculously get back into surfing, today's events have finally got me ready to start taking baby steps.
And with my loved ones at my side, not even the all-consuming ocean feels daunting.
ＴＨＥ ＥＮＤ.