The Second Time Around
A/n: Okay, so the quotations marks were like backwards in the first chapter. And they stayed that way, no matter how many times I tried to fix them, which drove me nuts. Oh, well. So, hello. It's been…a while. And to anyone wondering, I am writing the next chapter for Clara Dawson, but truth be told I'm having a bit of a block on the story at this moment, but I'm working on it. I don't want the chapter to sound rushed like a few of my more recent ones for the story have. Anyway, back to this story. Yeah, I was a bit anxious about the first chapter, but I'm over it and since I just read it over, I got the urge to update. So, here's the next chapter. I've had…158 hits, so let's see if I get any more reviews. And to the two amazing people that reviewed…thank-you so much for the high praise. It meant so much.
Onto Chapter Two. It's been a while since I've written a Chapter Two…
Oh, and Happy Almost-St. Patrick's Day!
Disclaimer: Okay, here we go: I own nothing Titanic. The end. There, that was simple.
Chapter Two
How was it that one simple song and constellations in a pitch black sky could keep you alive when you were so, so cold? Why did the air have to be so still with the silence of death? Why couldn't fate have been a little kinder, and somehow gotten them both on a life boat? Then they wouldn't be here with icicles coating their skin and hair, and close to death themselves. They would be safe with the promise that a future together awaited them. She had known how her future was going to be only a few short hours ago. A life spent living, and living that life spent with the man she loved so much it hurt. Now she knew nothing but that she must keep her eyes open; hold on until the boats came back. She had made a promise. The boats would come back soon; they had to. If-
"Hello, is anybody out there! Can anyone hear me!"
As if from a far distance, she heard the shout. It sounded more like a blurry echo to her, but she knew what it meant: help was coming. Energy she didn't know she had burst within her, and she turned to the love of her life, relieved that they were going to be okay after all.
"Jack, there's a boat…" As she shook him to get his attention, he didn't move. He didn't even attempt to open his eyes. Stark terror clenched its fist around her heart. No, he couldn't be. No, no, no, no.
She started to shake him violently; panicking.
"Jack, Jack!" She shouted his name in a horse croak. Over and over and over again. Tears of despair filled her eyes; a thick lump lodged itself in her throat.
"Jack, Jack…"
"Jack!" Collette woke with a start as she bolted upright in bed. For a minute, she just sat there, disorientated. It had been a dream, she thought. Nothing but a dream. She shivered. It had been so real. She could still feel the icy wind on her skin and the man's frozen hand in her own. An outbreak of goose bumps spread over her arms, and she rubbed at them. She had Carter Jackson on the brain way too much. She was dreaming about him now? It had been a week since the incident down on the Pier, and he still hadn't called. The practical side of her told her to just forget him, that he wasn't interested. But that side wasn't winning. She still periodically waited by the phone, hoping he'd call. So far all she'd gotten was a call back from Dolche&Gabana. She had an interview set up for next week. And she was expecting yet more call backs any time now, when the stores realized who she was. The John Rose's heir wanted to work at their store? Think of how much publicity it would bring!
They already gave her free clothes, so she could be seen wearing them those five days out of the week when she was photographed by the paparazzi. It was annoying, and if she wanted to she could afford to buy things straight from the runway. She wasn't the one that needed the free clothes; the people that didn't have any were. Not that that would ever happen in a million years. It was all business, she knew that. All those people cared about was raking in the cash, and she could do that for them, not the homeless people they probably never gave a second thought to, anyway. She may seem like an ungrateful brat to the outside world, but Collette knew the way things worked. Her father's name alone could get her the moon if she wanted it. She hated the way society, especially in her inner circle, worked.
Collette looked at her clock and groaned. It was only five in the morning! She knew she was never going to get back to sleep now, no matter how hard she tried. She might as well just get up. Besides, it was time to pay a visit to the dolphins anyway.
Forty-five minutes later, Collette was showered, dressed in a wrap around sarong with her bikini underneath, and ready to go out the door. As she pulled out of the gated driveway of her father's overly extravagant mansion, she put her retro 60s sunglasses on and sped on down towards the beach.
& & &
The early morning summer air was already close to the eighties. The heat never bothered Collette; she had grown up with it. And besides, if it ever got too hot, she lived right by a beach. Swimming was one of her favorite things to do. Since she'd gotten over her fear of water, anyway. She was still working on the heights thing. There was no logical explanation as to why she'd been so afraid of water when she was little, or why she was afraid of heights now, but she just figured things like that happened sometimes. They didn't need reasonable explanations; they just were.
Too bad she couldn't have that same attitude about the whole déjà vu, out-of-nowhere connection thing with Carter. That had been just a little too out there for her. It was stuff she read about in books. It didn't happen in real life. Yet it had happened between she and Carter Jackson that night, without rhyme or reason. Collette had never gotten déjà vu about anything but the Pier before. And that she'd been able to dismiss as a long buried childhood memory trying to make itself remembered. Oh, well. Come what may, she supposed.
The four dolphins were a few miles away from shore, happily chirping to each other and playing in the ocean's waves. A small smile played at Collette's full lips. They were the same four she always swam with every time she popped by for a visit. Happy, Dopey, Doc and Flipper is what she'd named each of them. Her top favorite dwarfs from Snow White, and Flipper had just seemed right for the one she'd given the name to. He liked being in the spot light, and Flipper had had his own show.
She undid her sarong and stuffed it into her tote bag, slipping out of her flip flops and doing the same thing with them. No one would be conscious enough just yet to come down to the beach and steal her things, so she left them as she ran towards the surf and dove right into an oncoming wave. She came up on the other side, and tossed her long braid over her shoulder. She alternated between the breast stroke and the butterfly as she made her way over to her family of dolphins.
Flipper was the first to greet her with a series of clicks and lots of tail slapping on the water. She reached out a hand and ran it over his dark skin. "Heya, boy."
She didn't really know which dolphin was male and which was female, but she assumed that Doc and Happy were the girls, considering how much smaller they were than Dopey and Flipper. She let out a laugh as the other three came up to greet her, and shrieked when Dopey gave her an unwanted shower when he sprayed a stream of water out of his blow hole.
She'd first met this particular pod of wild dolphins about two years ago, when she'd been out surfing one morning. At first she'd made sure to keep her distance. They were nice to look at, sure, but they were still wild animals. And you technically weren't supposed to approach them on your own, anyway. Apparently they'd had other ideas because when she'd become separated from her board after falling off it of (typical Collette), they'd swum right up to her as she'd been searching for the wayward beginner's board. She didn't know why they'd done this, except for maybe she was just special like that. Since then, they'd practically become her best friends. The only friends she had that didn't have any hidden agendas. Sometimes she thought that made her sound like a candidate for a straight jacket.
After doing some wave frolicking and playing a game that resembled water tag with her companions, Collette started to feel her limbs grow tired. She'd grown out of surfing after one too many falls, but she almost wished she'd brought her old board along with her now. By the time she made it back to shore, she was going to feel like her entire body had been amputated. She thought for a minute, and her eyes lit up as she got an idea. She turned to the Energizer Bunny dolphins.
"Hey guys, what about a lift?" Flipper, the show off, came right up to her as if he'd understood every word she'd just spoken. She gave him an 'I know your agenda' look, and grabbed onto his dorsal fin. She knew he couldn't take her all the way to shore without getting beached, but he would bring her close enough. As she wobbled over to her tote bag on legs that still felt like they were treading water, she turned around to wave good-bye, not caring if she looked like a lunatic to anyone passing by.
"Don't you know you're not supposed to touch the dolphins?" Collette yelped and spun around like a Disney World teacup, at the sound of a voice directly behind her.
"Carter!" She exclaimed, wide-eyed. For a minute she was so shocked to see him standing there bare-chested with dark sunglasses perched on top of his head, that she simply stared.
"Like what you see?" Collette felt herself blush as she punched him in the arm.
"Don't do that!"
He laughed. "Sorry."
"What are you doing here?"
"Jogging. What else?"
"Right, stupid me." Silence reigned as they both stood there awkwardly, unsure of what else to say.
"Well, it was nice seeing you," Collette suddenly said, stepping around him.
"Wait, where you headed off to so fast?"
"Um…I have things to do. And thanks for the phone call, by the way," she threw over her shoulder as she started to walk away. Her heart was racing like a startled rabbit's. What was this guy doing to her?
"Hold on," he said, grabbing her arm to prevent her from taking another step. "About that, I've been really busy, and-"
"Save it," she said, cutting him off. "I understand."
"I don't think you do understand."
"Look, I'm not dumb. I-"
"Will you just shut up for a minute?"
"Didn't I tell you not to tell me what to do? You hardly know me, first of all. And second of all…let go of my arm." Silence fell again as, with a sigh, Carter loosened his grip and Collette pulled free with a huff.
Get a grip, she thought to herself. She was loosing her temper over a stupid phone call. Where had all of her Ice Queen hidden talents gone to? Out the window with her sanity, she supposed. He was just a guy. Just a strange guy she didn't know at all, at that. And yet, she felt like she'd known him for years. Maybe for forever. She never treated other strangers with this sense of familiarity. What made some dumb guy who didn't make promised phone calls, special?
"Look, my kid brother got sick and I had to stay with him. So, I'm sorry I never called when I gave every impression I would, but-"
She held up a hand. "Okay, I hope your brother's okay and everything, but you don't need to give me any explanations. I'll see you around."
It was better this way, she thought as she trudged her way through the sand, flinging her tote bag over her shoulder. Better to sever all ties with him now, before he did more than make her heart try and beat it's way out of her chest. Like break it. She wasn't looking to get involved with anyone, and especially not someone that sent her sacred composure scattering into the wind. She prided herself on being the master of calm around other people, but around him and the strange feelings he evoked after just two meetings, she knew that would be impossible. Change was something she craved, but not this kind of change. She couldn't afford to let anyone get close. She just couldn't.
Collette Rose was also afraid of loss.
"What are you, speed walking or somethin'? Wait up."
Collette wanted to ignore him, but she didn't. Couldn't. Something wouldn't let her. Instead, rather resignedly, she stopped walking and waited for him to catch up. "What?"
"Why are you bein' such a spoiled brat about the whole thing? I said I was sorry."
"Don't call me a spoiled brat, you jerk! I am not-"
"Yeah, you are. But, I guess I should've expected that, considering who you are."
Collette's tempter flared. How dared he? The arrogant little…
"Ow! What was that for?"
Collette sputtered as he rubbed at the shin she'd just kicked. He looked at her for an answer, and then promptly started to laugh at the look on her face.
He was laughing at her! Of all the…
And then she started to laugh, too. They both laughed until they could hardly catch their breath.
"Oh my God! What are we doing?" Collette managed to gasp out.
"Bein' idiots, that's what. Look, I really am sorry-"
Collette waved him off. "It's okay. Really. You're still a jerk, though."
"And you're still a brat," he said with a lazy smile that made her pulse jump.
"So, you want to go for a run or somethin'? But if you do, be warned. It'll be real running, none of that power walking stuff you were just doin'."
Collette grinned at him. "You mean I'll have to get sweaty and everything?"
"Yup, and keep up with me."
"Sounds like fun," she said, laughing dismissively.
"No, c'mon, we'll really do it. Or do you have somewhere else to be?"
Collette thought of the call backs she was supposed to be waiting by the phone for, as her father expected her to be since she'd been the one that wanted to work. But, she really didn't feel like stomaching all the falsely cheerful voices from all the designers and restaurant owners that were dying to get their hands on her, right now. They could wait. Things she should be doing, and was expected to do, could wait. Should and expected were the two words that ruled her life.
And forget all her stupid fears. With this boy, she knew that wouldn't be too hard. He had a magnetic presence about him. Even as he was scaring her to death at this very moment and making her want to hold onto her old scared self for dear life, he was also making her want to willingly throw her inhibitions aside.
Collette looked up at him and shook her head. "Nope, nothing else. Let's go, life guard boy. Bet you'll be eating my dust in a second."
They ended up spending the day together, riding the roller coaster repeatedly until they both felt sick and running around in the surf after they ate a lunch that consisted of fast food. And for just a little while, Collette forgot about all the shallow people in Santa Monica that she knew and the outdoors Pilates classes with the preening body builders and the paparazzi that never left her alone to just enjoy her time out and about. She forgot all this and just enjoyed the beautiful place that Santa Monica could be, if you just let it. The Santa Monica Carter Jackson helped her to see.
Strangely, the day felt like it was meant to be; like it was a long time in coming.
A/n: Okay, so this chapter was totally rushed. I'm so going to add to it or something after I get a little sleep. In case you're wondering, it's like one in the freakin' morning, lol. If you have any suggestions, let me know.