Endless Summer Part 2
Wahines and Wagers...

As the two boys watched Duo swim back in, a voice spoke up behind them.

"Who is that?"

Heero turned around to face Quatre and Trowa. They weren't dressed to surf. In fact, they looked like they were getting ready to go out somewhere nice to eat. Both were in dress clothes. Quatre was the one who asked.

Heero answered. "Just a haole drifter. Duo Maxwell. West coaster."

"Hmm," Trowa narrowed his eyes slightly, trying to get a better look at the braided surfer. "That name sounds familiar." His attention was shifted by the arrival of more surfers to the shore, though. He smiled a little and called out to a girl in a shimmery blue-green bikini. "Swish!"

"Hey! Shark!" The female surfer threw her board down on the sand and leapt into the tall, green-eyed boy's arms. Trowa laughed and twirled her around once before setting her down and kissing her on the cheek.

"Hello, Catherine," Wufei said, although not in the most enthusiastic manner. He had always held the long-standing belief that women should not be surfers. Ever. He refused to compete with them, which was one of the reasons he wasn't entered in the Billabong Pro on North Shore.

She looked over at him, smirking a little. "Wufei."

Catherine peered down at Heero, trying to see his eyes through the sunglasses and failing. "Aren't you gonna say hi, Heero?"

"Hn. Hi," Heero muttered, glancing up in her direction for a moment before gazing back out to where Baka was playing with Duo Maxwell. The boy's braid had come loose in the water, and pieces of wet hair were plastered to his face. The boy was laughing and splashing the dog, who just knocked him off his feet and into the water.

"Oooh, I got two words. I feel special now," Catherine said sarcastically, grinning. She looked at Wufei. "Does he always grunt, or just when us womenfolk are around?"

"Sometimes I get multi-syllable words. Even full sentences," Wufei replied matter-of-factly.

Quatre smiled at the girl. "Hey, Catherine. Getting ready to ride?"

Catherine smiled brightly. "You know it." She pouted at her older brother. "C'mon, Shark, aren't you gonna go riding today?" Trowa shook his head, smiling. "Not today." He glanced at Quatre. "We're going out."

"Your loss. Or I guess your gain, if you guys have a little after-dinner entertainment," Catherine answered cheerfully, causing the two boys to blush furiously. She gestured over her shoulder, where two other girls were coming up further the beach. "The other wahines are coming."

That caught Heero's attention in a heartbeat. He jerked his head in Catherine's direction, his voice suddenly changed. If the others didn't know any better, they'd swear that voice was a little scared. "Oh, Catherine, you didn't bring her, did you? Please say you didn't...."

Catherine grinned. "Oh c'mon, Heero. You know you like her. You better learn to get along now, because after Billabong Pro, she's going to have this whole beach eating out of her hand. She's your only real competition. But if you did win... which I doubt, you being a guy and all...then you could get sponsored, Heero. You could quit workin' in that dusty shapeshop and just surf... and get paid for it "

Heero scowled. "That's for sellouts. Besides... I'm not competing."

His scowled deepened, and he sounded almost sulky when he added, "And I like shaping."

Catherine snorted. "You would." She gave him a pleading look. "You should compete too, though. Maybe you won't compete because you know you'll lose," she baited. "Or have you lost your guts? Clucking out, maybe?"

Heero shot her a dangerous look. "I am not afraid of her."

"I think you're afraid of her and you're afraid to be beaten by a girl."

"Hn."

"Speak of the devil," Trowa said quietly, his smile widening a little. Relena Peacecraft walked up the beach in a sparkling blue bikini, hair pulled back into a low ponytail at her neck, blue eyes sparkling with challenge. She was followed closely by Hilde and Dorothy, her most common accomplices.

"Heero Yuy!" she declared confidently. Since her father owned most of the hotel chains on Oahu, she had a lot of influence to throw around, and she spoke like it. When she walked over to them, she glanced at Wufei and smiled. "Hello, Wufei."

Wufei blushed. "Hm... hi," he muttered. When it came to Relena Peacecraft, he was torn between his attraction to such a pretty girl and his dislike for female surfers of any kind. Relena was the most well-known female surfer on Oahu, so he really didn't know what to make of her.

Heero stood up, not because he didn't want to be lying down when she came up, but because he felt some kind of instinct that told him it was potentially dangerous to let his rival tower over him. At least standing he had the advantage of height. Quatre and Trowa stood at his back, exchanging a grin.

Heero Yuy and Relena Peacecraft were the biggest surfing rivals on North Shore. As Trowa was fond of putting it, there were no two people on Oahu who understood each other so well and hated each other so much for it. The two athletes were torn between hatred, camaraderie, rivalry, grudging affection, and respect for one another.

Quatre had never seen such a complicated relationship. Sometimes he suspected the whole act was just a game.

"What?" Heero asked gruffly, crossing his arms over his chest.

She walked right up to him and poked one finger into his chest. Hard. "I was just speaking with some of the officials from Billabong. They've informed me that you, Heero Yuy, North Shore's most prestigious surfer, have declined an invitation to compete." She smiled sweetly. "May I ask why?"

Heero smiled mockingly. "No."

Relena's face twisted into a pout. "Oh, c'mon Heero. You're not afraid to be humiliated on ESPN by me in front of thousands and thousands of people, are you?"

"I don't compete. And I'm out of your league."

"Care to make a wager then, Yuy?" she asked, smiling. She took out a coin. "Heads, you compete at Billabong and prove I'm out of your league. Tails and..." She thought a minute. "I'll drop out of the competition."

"Relena You can't do that!" Hilde said in horror. "Are you crazy? You'd lose your chance for a sponsorship!"

"It's worth the wager to see Heero Yuy get back on a board in competition. Are you in or are you a cluck, Heeeeero?" she asked, smiling at him.

Heero gritted his teeth together. He hated it when she said his name like that.

He looked over at Wufei, Quatre, and Trowa. Quatre nodded enthusiastically; he had already tried to get him to enter the competition. Trowa and Wufei just shrugged.

"What's goin' on?" called a voice from nearby.

The four girls and guys turned to look. Duo Maxwell had emerged from the water, wrapping a towel around his shoulders. Baka trotted happily at his heels.

Four pairs of female eyes widened. And suddenly, all amount of screaming fangirl hell broke loose. The question of Heero's entrance into the Billabong Pro was put on indefinite hold.

Heero, Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei watched on in mute bewilderment as the local wahines went utterly and inexplicably insane. You would have thought the Beatles had walked onto the beach. But no. It was only just one madly blushing, decidedly disheveled grommet in wrinkled wet swimtrunks and a black rashguard.

"Oh, no way What are you doing on Oahu?!"

"Ohmigod, it's the God of Death!!!"

"Ooooh, Duo, can you sign my board!?"

"Duo, Duo Maxwell, can you sign this!"

"What in the hell..." Heero muttered, watching the boy get swamped by the shrieking, giggling female surfers.

"I don't know," Quatre said in confusion. Trowa's eyebrows were knitted together, and Wufei was looking amused. Heero thought Wufei was looking entirely too amused as of late.

Heero scowled, watching as Duo blushed and signed surfboards with a thick black Magic marker that had emerged from his backpack.

/ Who in the hell are you? /

"I'll take your bet, Relena," Heero said quietly, trying to divert the girls' attention from one very flustered and embarrassed Duo Maxwell.

At least it caught Relena's attention. "Be quiet Quiet Heero just accepted You all heard it, girls Heero Yuy agreed to compete at Billabong Pro if the coin lands on heads."

She held up the quarter. "Who wants to do the honors?" She looked at Duo, who was scrawling a big, loopy signature on Catherine's board. "Maxwell, you want to flip it? You're neutral, so it's only fair."

Duo looked up, his gaze flickering back and forth from the boys to the girls uncertainly. "Uh... sure. I guess." He took the quarter from her hand and flicked it. The spinning quarter flashed brightly in the late afternoon sun as it fell back into Duo's hand. The braided surfer slapped it against his other hand, then lifted it.

Heads.

Heero scowled. / Dammit. /

Relena almost crowed in triumph. "Yes You are mine, Yuy!" she said gleefully, grabbing his shoulders and putting a big loud kiss on his cheek. Heero startled as if she had burned him with a curling iron. "Better start working out, Heeeero. You've got some training to do in the next two weeks, don't you think?"

Heero glared balefully. If looks could kill, Relena Peacecraft would be one dead wahine. "...Hai."

"Well, we're going to head out to the swells at the other end of the lineup. Catch you on the flip side, boys," Relena purred, grabbing her board and pushing past them.

Wufei smiled apologetically at Heero, then grabbed his own board. "I'll see you later, Heero. I think I'm going to head home."

Heero nodded. "Later."

"I'm gonna go, too I gotta do some shopping in town, so I need to hitch a ride before dark. Seeya later, Heero!" Duo looked back at Heero, smiling a little, as if hoping for the other boy to at least nod back at him. When he didn't get any response, he sighed and grabbed his bags, heading off with Wufei.

"We have to go too, Heero. Our dinner reservations are at six," Quatre said. He smiled, putting his hand on Heero's shoulder before the two boys left. "I'm really glad you decided to compete, Heero. There's no point in having your talent and not showing the world what you can do."

The Japanese boy rolled his eyes. / Some decision. Did I even have a choice? /

Heero grabbed Catherine by the shoulder as the girls were leaving, turning her to face him. "What was all that fuss about Duo Maxwell about?"

Catherine scowled at him. "What, have you been living under a rock or something?"

Heero looked back at her, raising one eyebrow slightly. "...No."

She rolled her eyes. "That's Duo Maxwell!"

Heero scowled. "I know that."

Catherine shook her head, then repeated herself, as if speaking to a retarded five year-old. "No, Heero, that's not just Duo Maxwell, that's the Duo Maxwell The God of Death? Don't you read?"

"Recipes and cereal boxes."

Catherine facepalmed. "Oh, for goodness sakes... Wait, here, look... I know you don't believe in commercial surfing, Heero, but it wouldn't hurt you to open a magazine once in awhile. Just so you'll know a celebrity if you see them."

She ran over and grabbed her back, rummaging through it and grabbing a magazine. TRANSWORLD SURF was embellished across the front. She flipped through it, then folded the magazine to a page and handed it to him. "See? That Duo Maxwell."

AMERICAN GOD OF DEATH SWEEPS AUSTRALIA'S RIP CURL CLASSIC FOR FOURTH YEAR RUNNING AUSSIES BEWILDERED BY CALIFORNIAN REAPER'S UPSET

There was a full page picture at the beginning of the article. The surfer in that picture was none other than Duo Maxwell. The braided surfer was standing with one hand holding up a black longboard. The longboard was airbrushed with an American flag, a large skull and crossbones, and two crossed scythes. With his other hand, he was flashing a V for victory, grinning widely.

"Hn."

"Is that all you have to say?"

"I wonder if he's competing in Billabong."

Catherine shook her head and grabbed her bag, walking off in the direction the other girls had gone.

"You are hopeless, Heero Yuy. Completely hopeless."

TBC...

RIPTIONARY: Surfer Terms
Grommet - teenage surfer
Cluck(ing) - n. A chicken v. chickening out
Swish - a timid surfer who is intimidated by bigger waves (like the ones at Pipeline)
Shark - someone who cuts in on the waves of others; a ruthless surfer

 

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