Our Little Secret

[Izaak Finch]

“Izaak, over here!” “Can you comment on how your training is progressing?” “How are you finding the conditions in Florida?” “What does it feel like to be a prospective world number one?” “Mr. Finch!”

Like a venue of starved vultures, the press peckishly circled the athletic figure emerging from the whitewash and thrust microphones and recording devices towards him in hungry anticipation of an answer. The only thing stopping them from consuming him whole was the salty water that slicked his heaving body for the fear that it might be detrimental to the functionality of their equipment. Izaak stopped his advance for a moment to grin charmingly at their flashing cameras and state one solid answer. “Wicked.” Despite that the group he had directed this at had never been stipulated, they all lapped it up anyway and fired some more questions into the sea-salted air. It was an incredible thing to think that Izaak had only joined the world tour some six months ago. The surfing world had not quite known what had struck them and neither, being wholly honest here, had Izaak. Why him? Why not the next rookie? Or the one after them? Oftentimes he entertained the thought that after all that he had unfairly had to shoulder in the past several years, somewhere and somehow a greater being was attempting to make things up to him. However that was not the way that critics saw it, Izaak Finch wasn’t just any old superstar. He was a superstar for a reason. The twenty-three year old could pull moves that before had been unseen and he knew how to manipulate the waves to do his bidding in ways that even veterans knew not how to do. But the craziest thing of all, what many could not seem to lay their finger upon, was the emotional connection between man and wave. It made sense, to those who knew of the accident at least, for Izaak had turned to his board in those deep dark days when not even his friends had managed to break through his impenetrable depression. But the magic of it all had flummoxed everybody in the ASP, shooting him straight to prospective number one and right to this very position, here on Daytona Beach.

Shifting his surfboard beneath his left arm, Izaak divided the press as they continued to lay down their questions. Perhaps if this had been a real competition, not just some last minute training for tomorrow, Izaak might have spared them a few extra minutes of his time. Right now though, all Izaak wanted to do was scout his poor friend amongst the beach goers and surfing enthusiasts and sprint away to the cave at the far end of the beach, where for several long years they had hidden themselves away from the world. Some things never change. But inevitably, the majority of things had. Izaak Finch and Melodie Lowe were innocent children no more. They had travelled all the way to hell and back in order to find themselves here but somehow it could not tarnish the preserved memory of the childhood they had spent together. It had been a surprise for her, something he’d been itching to spoil since he had first found out that a leg of the tour hit the southeastern coast and, more specifically, the place in which they were born and raised. That was saying a lot too, seeing as Izaak was usually one who couldn’t possibly take more joy in the nature of surprises. However he had kept his mouth shut until this morning and it had been rewarding in every possible way. “Ready to turn back time?” Izaak grinned as he finally reached Melodie, setting his board down beside her and reaching for her hand in order to pull her up. It wasn’t long before a journalist a little distance away asked loudly enough to hear, “Izaak, is this the woman you are seeing?” Wow, they wanted to know the details of his romantic life too? He thought he was supposed to be featured in the sports section of the Sunday paper, not on Page Six. Besides, he thought they’d already gotten that answer when they’d discovered he and Aly making out in Hawaii last month. In spite of it all though, Izaak could not help but to laugh out loud, his only response to the question as he and Melodie exchanged glances. Because the last time they’d been here, she had in fact been his girlfriend. And it only exemplified just how much time had passed.

 

[Melodie Lowe]

Deciding to take leave from Australia should have taken Melodie Lowe longer than a few seconds to decide upon, but for the young woman it had only taken the utterance of 'Yes' for her mind to be completely made up. It didn't seem at all wrong to be leaving her life behind and on hold for a little holiday, afterall she had been well overdue for one since everything she had been through, and when Izaak had suggested it, she had immediately packed her bags, hardly giving it a second thought in her mind. She hadn't seen her best friend in a while, and had heard the odd word from him, but most of what she knew seemed to be sprawled across her paper each morning, drastic and often sceptic headlines and blurred photos of Izaak and his supposed girlfriend plagued the news, often even making the front page, and more often than not, in Melodie's view, getting the complete wrong idea, only causing herself to laugh as she sipped her morning coffee. The Australian papers wanting to lap ip every bit of information on Izaak, claiming he was their own, having lived there a few years. Since settling back in at work, the twenty-three year old had lived a rather mundane life, running after her now three year old sons and apparating back and forth between New Zealand and Australia to teach. But luckily enough for her she had managed to score some time off, and Izaak's sister Leah had been all to ready to take Aiden and Lucas off of her hands for the proposed trip to Florida, more of a trip back in time for the best friends than anything. Having not spent much time around Izaak since his new found fame, Melodie was a fish out of water, in making her way to Florida, not a moment of silence with the flashing of cameras and the constant nagging of reporters with each move they made.

But the ever loyal friend had somehow managed to find a spot on the beach she knew all too well inbetween the reporters and photographers and had settled down to watch Izaak work his magic with the waves, and wait for him to collect her for this adventure that had been promised along with the suprise that she was amazed her best friend had managed to keep from her for so long. Melodie seemed to often forget that they weren't children anymore, keeping a secret was entirely possible, though with their close relationship still quite a rare occurance. But seeing Izaak bounding out of the waves, Melodie smiled, but had to laugh at him, surrounded by all of those people, it looked as though he still hadn't gotten the hang of it, though it had only been six months, so he wasn't to blame. Finally, it seemed her friend had made it through the crowd, and as he hosited her up off the warm sand, Melodie pulled down the light dress she had thrown on and looked up at him from underneath her large floppy hat with a knowing smile. Not expecting to be singled out and accused of being Izaak's girlfriend, Melodie's mouth fell open as she exhanged a glance and shook her head towards the camera's her hand gestures wanting them to leave her alone, she sure hoped Izaak had some sort of plans that would get them away from the media attention, though disguised by a chuckle, Melodie was only pleased that her last trip down memory lane, and subsequent pregnancy scare with her friend hadn't gotten anywhere near the papers, but her laugh won over. It did seem funny to believe that the last time they had been on the beach in Florida, the pair had been dating, but that seemed like almost a lifetime ago for the twenty three year old mother of two. "So, what have you got planned for us hmm? Hopefully something that these guys can't get in on?" she hinted with a cheeky smile.​