"We're getting on that?"
"Yeah! Crazy, right?"
Just the thought of the cruise ship that now sat before Alex thrilled her just minutes ago, but now it didn't. She felt… afraid of it? She wasn't afraid of water or boats, regardless of drowning incidents. But now, this boat terrified her.
"How the hell did you manage to get enough money to pay for this vacation, Ren? Secretly, too. Like, I'm genuinely impressed," Jonas asked.
"That… doesn't matter right now. We're going on a cruise, Jonas!" Ren said.
Jonas and Ren had gotten… close recently. Alex didn't mind at all, but it was still weird to have her step-brother with her best friend. But, they were happy together, so Alex didn't bother them for it, except for the occasional teasing.
But, as the group started heading onto the boat Alex felt anxious. It must have been Michael's death that was making her so nervous, right? The water and the dying and all? Why else would she be afraid of water or a boat?
"Alex, are you alright?" Jonas asked. The girl had a thousand mile and barely followed the two guys.
Alex looked at Jonas, who seemed concerned. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I'm just thinking is all."
"Really? Trying out that whole thinking thing? How is it?" Ren butted in.
"Oh yeah, I guess you wouldn't know, would you?" Alex teased, trying to get the attention off of her.
"You not getting, like, seasick or something are you?" Jonas continued, speaking just as Ren opened his mouth to speak.
Alex said, "Oh, no, I'm fine, really. I'm just… nervous? I guess?"
"Oh, like a fear of flying, but for boats? You think we're gonna pull a Titanic and sink into the sea," Ren wondered, leading the three towards the room.
"I don't know, maybe? I just… god, I just have this really bad feeling, like… like something wrong with this ship, or that something bad's gonna happen. I can't really explain it."
What was Alex worried about? It wasn't sinking, was it?
A vision flashed in Alex's head. It was sinking. She couldn't explain what she had just felt or seen or whatever. It was like trying to explain what a color looked like, but she still felt something. Something… sinister? Sad?
Ren spoke, "You… gonna come in? I'm only gonna hold this door for so long."
Alex left her mind and looked in front of her. Ren was holding their room's door open for her. Jonas was settling down inside.
"Oh, yeah, sorry," Alex said, hurriedly rushing into the room.
Ren let the door shut behind her and walked over towards the two step-siblings. "So, Alex, are you sure you're alright? Cause you really don't seen like yourself."
"No, no, I'm fine, really. I just… I don't know. I guess I'm afraid of water or something and never realized it," Alex tried to explain.
"Okay, well, we're not gonna sink— this ship works well enough, I'm sure. And you're not gonna be in the water or anything. I mean, if it's bothering you that much I can—" Jonas reassured.
"No, it's fine. Sorry for being… distant. But, we're on vacation, so I'm gonna try to have fun." Alex looked around on at the room, only just noticing that there was a single bed and a single couch. "Wait, there's only one bed?"
Jonas looked over to Ren, who returned the look. "I mean, we're gonna be sleeping together, Alex. Is… is that a surprise?" Jonas asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice.
"No, just I didn't realize you two were there already. Or that you were okay with your sister being ten feet away, but do what you want, I guess. I'll just leave the room."
Jonas's eyes widened and he blushed, looking mortified, "No, that's— we're not doing—"
Ren interrupted the nervous boy, "Don't worry, we're not quite there yet. No messing around for us, just sleeping. Close. In the same bed. I mean, it saves me some money getting just one bed, anyway."
"Wow, so you're okay with just forcing me to the couch, huh? That wasn't a problem? You'd rather save a few dollars than give your own dear, dear friend an actual bed?" Alex said, faking a hurt reaction.
"Yeah. Easily. No contest. Hands down. Without a—"
"Okay, got it: I'm worth nothing to you— what are we gonna do on this cruise while we're here?"
"We're going to drink and be stupid… and commit improper acts."
"Wait, that—"
"Oh god, what do you mean by 'improper acts', Ren?" Jonas asked, his blush subsiding.
"I mean: we're gonna explore and go places on the ship we shouldn't. I specifically found a cruise that's lax on security, and so with just the slightest bit of stealth, we can go almost anywhere we want to," Ren explained.
"Why can't we just have a normal vacation, though? Why do we need to break into stuff?"
"Look, we just need a little bit of excitement here on this vacation, and how else am I gonna supply it? I can't bring any brownies, cause everyone would smell 'em! Besides, you've already gone to jail, so does it really matter if you go again?"
"Ren, I swear to fucking god, I—"
"Alright, I'm sorry for teasing you, it was just really easy."
Alex let the two boys settle their differences and make up, and as they did, Alex continued to think about how strange all this was. She felt like Ren had said those exact words before. 'Drink and be stupid' and 'improper acts'. Jesus, she felt so nervous and uneasy. She felt as if something wrong was gonna happen. Or… had happened? Alex was forgetting something, or remembering something? Maybe it was déjà vu. It was probably déjà vu. Nothing had happened yet and nothing would happen. Her friend, her brother, and her were simply going to enjoy a wonderful, mostly uneventful vacation out in the sea. Alex needn't worry. Except, perhaps about whether she would be able to survive Ren and Jonas's flirting and bickering.