Chapter 1

I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did.

Wait...In this story, I created most of the characters, so I actually do.

Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves.

And as I created most of them, who they are is up to me, so...

Charlie and Derek continued to get to know each other while they continued unpacking all of their things. Of course, when Charlie hung a Red Sox banner, Derek just laughed and shook his head. But, when Derek hung a University of Texas flag, Charlie looked at him funny.

"Texas?"

Derek nodded. "Yeah. My Dad played college ball there. And we moved back to Austin for the past couple of years. UT is where my Dad met my Mom. So, I kind of bleed burnt orange."

Charlie shrugged. "Cool. My Mom and Dad's alma mater isn't really known for their sports. Every once in a while, they're good at hockey, but that's about it..."

"Where did they go?"

"Yale."

Derek rolled his eyes and laughed. "Something tells me Yale's alright with not being good at sports. Do your parents want you to follow in their footsteps?"

Charlie shook his head. "Not really. They've always told me to do what what makes me happy..." He grinned. "I guess I have four years of high school and then college to figure that out."

"You and me both..."

At that moment, there was a knock at their cabin door. Charlie went over to answer it, and there on the other side was Brady, Nate and a guy Charlie had never seen before.

"You about ready to head out, Cuz?"

Charlie laughed. "Come on in..." He turned back to Derek. "Derek, this is my cousin Brady, my buddy Nate and...ummm..."

Matt laughed. "I'm Matt..."

Derek laughed too. "And I'm Derek...Nice to meet you all." He looked at Brady. "Your Dad used to be the GM of the Sox. Why did he quit?"

Brady shrugged. "The new team over didn't want to be overshadowed by Dad. Dad said he was a Jerry Jones wannabe, whatever that means. So, Dad is now the AD at Boston College. You a big baseball fan?"

Derek looked at Charlie and smiled. "Sort of. My Dad is Mickey Horton..."

The other three guys' eyes went wide. "Whoa..."

Brady shook his head. "That's cool. How is your Dad doing? What's he up to nowadays?"

"He's doing good. He can't play anymore, but he's still part of the game. He's an assistant baseball coach at UT now."

"I should let Dad know. I'm sure your Dad would get a huge homecoming if they were to play at BC, and I think my Dad could pull that off."

Derek nodded. "Maybe so."

Nate spoke up. "Anyways, we're all settled in and about to head up to the skydeck. You guys ready?"

Charlie shook his head. "Abby needed to borrow some extra room in one of my bags, so I have some of her things. I need to drop them off at her cabin before I head up."

Derek looked at his new roommate. "Why don't I head up there with you, and we can meet everyone up there in a bit?"

Brady nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Well, we're off to scope the babes on the boat..." He grinned. "Soon enough, we'll be at sea and there will be nowhere they can run..."

Matt grinned. "Now that sounds like a plan..."

Charlie laughed. "See you guys up there..."

Meanwhile, a few floors up, Abby and Marissa were continuing to unpack their things and get everything settled in.

Marissa paused. "I have to ask...are you usually a clean and organized person?"

Abby grinned. "Yeah. Both of my parents were bit of neat freaks...well, more so my Dad...but they kind of rubbed off on to me."

Marissa sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. Not that there is anything wrong with not being one, but I went to an all girls Catholic school in London for a few years. If the nuns found the least little bit of dust, they weren't afraid to use their rulers..."

Abby grimaced. "Ouch..."

"Exactly. But, it wasn't really a problem for me. When I was younger, I was diagnosed with a mild form of obsessive compulsive disorder. So, if you see me doing anything weird, I promise I'm not crazy."

Abby laughed. "Duly noted. When I was younger, I couldn't help but notice that my Dad would separate his food in to quadrants and then chew each bite a certain number of times. But...He's gotten much better. So, odds are, I probably won't even notice."

"Thanks. Well, I think I'm settled in. You ready to head up?"

Abby checked her watch. "Actually, Charlie is supposed to drop off some more of my things that he had to put in one of his bags. I was hoping to have everything settled before I headed out."

Marissa's eyes went wide. "Your brother is coming up here soon?"

Abby nodded. "Yeah..."

Marissa paused. "Ummm...well, if you don't mind, I'll wait here with you again. I'll be nice to see him again after all of these years."

Abby just grinned. "That's fine."

On the skydeck, the three guys had hit up the smoothie counter to get their first ever Easy Squeezy smoothies. After each tasting them, Brady turned to Nate.

"These are okay, but I don't know if I see all the hoopla our parents seem to make about them."

Nate was concentrating on drinking his. "Shut up...These are good!"

Brady rolled his eyes and turned to Matt, but Matt's attention was focused elsewhere.

"What's up? You see something?"

Matt grinned. "Oh yeah. Hot babe at two o'clock..."

Brady turned and saw two girls standing there talking to each other. The blonde had her back to him, but he had to admit that it was a nice view. However, it was the redhead who had captured his attention.

He grinned. "Nice eye..."

"The blonde's mine..."

"Works for me...I had my eye on the redhead."

Matt turned to him. "Should we go introduce ourselves and make their lives a little better?"

Brady nodded. "Absolutely!"

Matt just shook his head. "That blonde doesn't know what's about to hit her..."

Brady laughed. "We'll see I guess. I mean, she is kind of hot from the back. And she's..." At that moment, the blonde turned around. Brady just paused and felt a sick feeling in his stomach. "...my sister..."

Matt turned to him. "That's your sister? Very nice..."

Brady shook his head. "Dude! That's my sister! And I said..." He paused. "And you said..."

Matt paused himself. This could be a very awkward situation. He had a little sister of his own, and he knew how he'd react if some guys were gawking all over her. But still, he was enjoying the view. So, he weighed his options and opted for the safer route. "You know what...Lets forget about those two. There's bound to be other girls on the ship for us to meet..."

Meekly, Brady nodded. "Good idea..."

Of course, by then, Rachel had joined them, and Nate had made his way over to his girlfriend. And once he made his presence known, Beth turned around to see her brother and another boy standing there. Grabbing Angela's hand, she dragged her over with her.

"Angela, this is my brother, Brady, and I'm guessing this is Brady and Nate's other roommate..."

Matt smiled at her. "I'm Matt. A pleasure to meet you both." He was going to run, but now that she had come to him, he was going nowhere.

Brady glared at him before turning to his sister. "Matt, this is my sister, Beth. But don't be surprised if some of us slip up and call her Lizzie. That's what we grew up calling her." He turned to Angela and smiled. "Its nice to meet you as well..."

Angela nodded, but stayed quiet. For some reason, she was getting a bad vibe from Beth's brother. He reminded her of the popular boys she had gone to middle school with – the kind she had detested for their senses of entitlement. But before she could think anything else, she heard Beth speak again.

"Where are Charlie and Abby?"

"Oh...Charlie had to drop something off for Abby. He and his roommate said they'd do that and meet us here."

Beth turned to Angela and smiled. "I think you'll like Abby and Charlie. They're both very serious about their studies too. From what my Mom and Dad tell us, our Uncle Cody and Aunt Bailey were the big brains on the boat. The were valedictorians, and they won College Jeopardy while they were freshman at Yale.

Angela lit up. "Oh yeah?"

Beth nodded. "Charlie and Abby kind of take after them..." She grinned. "But they've always had us around to lighten them up though. I know you said you are serious about your studies, so those two are the ones you'll want to study with..."

Brady had been observing the conversation, and he smiled and spoke up. "But for group projects, you'll have to fight us for one of them. I've been trying to get Charlie as my partner since kindergarten."

Nathan rolled his eyes. "I remember. Talk about hurtful..."

Back up on the girl's floor, Abby and Marissa were talking when they heard a knock at their cabin door. Abby got up off her bed to open the door, and she found her brother and another boy standing there who she couldn't help but notice was very cute.

"Hey Abs...I have your things right here. This is my roommate, Derek."

Abby smiled. "Thanks. And nice to meet you, Derek."

Derek smiled back. "Likewise, I'm sure. Charlie and I figured out our two families know each other. The Mick is my Dad."

Abby's eyes went wide. "Oh my gosh! That's so cool. How is he doing?"

"A lot better now thanks to your Dad."

Abby grinned. "I'll have to make sure I let Mom and Dad know when I email them later. Speaking of knowing each other..." She turned so Charlie and Derek could see her roommate. "This is my roommate, Marissa..."

Charlie's eyes went wide. There was no way this could be happening. Marissa stood up and made her way over to the door. Charlie felt himself about to melt when she smiled.

"Good to meet you again, Charlie...And nice to meet you, Derek."

Derek was noticing the look on his new roommate's face and decided he would ask about it later. But, he had to admit that Abby Martin was definitely a very beautiful young lady. But he had to control himself. One of the lessons that his Dad had taught him was that a friend's sister was off limits. Something about it in something he called the Guyble. And he decided that was probably a good idea as he had just met Charlie and they were going to be roommates for the next nine months. No need to start things off on the wrong foot.

Charlie, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to everything except the beautiful brunette standing in front of him. Whatever had come over him five years ago had come back with full force. And then the thought struck him. He was going to be on the boat with Marissa for the next nine months. Somehow, they had been brought back together again. Maybe his parents and aunts and uncles had been right. Maybe there was something magical about this boat. Either way, he couldn't wait to find out.

To be Continued...

AN: I'm back! And I had my dates wrong. I don't graduate until NEXT Friday. So, I have a week off to do whatever I want. I may actually write some more. Oh yeah...Sorry AJ Green.