Chapter Two - A Friendship

All I could thing about was seeing him. Jack Dawson. I stayed in my room, gathering the courage to go and find Mr. Dawson. I need to thank him for saving my life. Cal hated him since the moment he did so. All I really want is to share my gratitude.

"Rose?" called my mother, interrupting my thoughts.

"Yes, mother."

"I'm going to drink tea with the rest of the girls. I'll be back in a few hours. Let's just hope Mrs. Brown won't appear, huh?"

"Allright mother. Well, I'm going to take a stroll on deck. If you need me."

I watched as she left and I shot up quickly. I pinned up my hair and left the room. The only place I would find Jack, is in steerage. I'm going to have to create the courage and head down there.

As I walked down, I could see the attitudes of the classes change. The 1st class, were quite snobby and I just can not stand to be near them anymore. The 2nd were only the slightest nicer, but still full of themselves. However, when I reached 3rd, I could see the difference just by looking in their eyes. These people are so humble and just light up with joy because of anything. There's loud laughter and lots of love. No one hated each other secretly, it was like they were a family.

Oh, I see Jack's friends. And, oh, look, there he is. I walked over to him.

"Hello, Mr. Dawson." I said.

"Hello, again.'' he answered surprised to see me.

"May I speak with you?"

"Yeah."

As I waited for him to leave, he just stood there looking at me. Well, he wasn't the only one. Everyone stared at me, like I was some magnet.

''In private?"

"Yes, of course."

He picked up, what seemed like a book, and lead the way to the deck.

"Mr. Dawson, I-" I began to talk to him once we were up in first class. The third class passengers kept marveling at the fact that I was there, that I was uncomfortable to thank him there.

''Jack."

"Jack, I feel like such an idiot. It took me all morning to get the nerve to face you."

"Well, here you are."

"Here I am. I.. I want to thank you for what you did. Not just for pulling me back, but for your descretion."

"You're welcome, Rose." I looked up to him, only to see his expression blank. Lost in thought. He's bored with me. He must think i'm a fool and really pity me.

"Look, I know what you must be thinking! Poor little rich girl. What does she know about misery?"

"No. That's not what I was thinking at all." How could he not think that? I'm from first class! I don't know anything about suffering. "What I was thing was, what could have happened to this girl to make her think she had no way out?" That sure did it.

"I don't.. It wasn't just one thing. It was everything. It was them, it was their whole world. And the nuture of my life. Plunging ahead of me, powerless to stop it." I picked up my hand and showed him my engagment ring.

"God! Look at that thing! You would've gone straight to the bottom." He said and I giggled.

"500 invitations have gone out. All of Philedelphia's society will be there. And all the while I feel i'm standing in the middle of a crowded room, screaming at the top of my lungs and no one even looks up."

"Do you love him?" Jack asked. Do I love him? Of course not! But, he can't ask me something like that. It's obvious if i'm going to marry him, I love him. Even if that is a lie and even if i'm only doing it for my mother and my myself.

"Pardon me?" I asked, giving him a chance to change his question.

"Do you love him?" He repeated.

"Well, you're being very rude! You shouldn't be asking me this."

"Well, it's a simple question. Do you love the guy or not?"

"HA! This is not a suitable conversation!"

"Why can't you just answer the question?" Why is he still insisting on this?

"This is absurd! You don't know me and I don't know you and we are not having this conversation at all! You are rude and uncooth. And presumtuis, and I am leaving now!" He seemed like what I just said didn't bother him. I raised out my arm and shook his hand. "Jack-, Mr. Dawson, it's been a pleasure. I sought you out to thank you and now I have thanked you."

"And you've insulted me." He added.

"Well, you deserved it!"

"Right." He agreed sarcastically.

"Right."

"I thought you were leaving." He comented. Me leaving? My God could he be any more rude!

"I am! You are so annoying!" He laughed. I started walking and I realized, i'm first class! I belong here! "Wait! I don't have to leave! This is my part of the ship! You leave!"

"Oh ho ho ho, well well well, looks who being rude now?" Well, I can't really respond to that, for its true. What can I use against him? That book!

"What's this?" I snatched the book out of his hands and opened it. There were sketches.

"So what are you, an artist or something?" Beautiful ones. Of people. The details were extroadinary. Perfect and exact.

"These are rather good. They're uh, they're very good actually." I sat down on a lounge chair.

He didn't miss one detail. They were amazing and so accurate. There were some drawings of families and they were just so extraordinary.

"Jack, this is exquisite work." I touched the sketches to make sure they're real.

"Oh, they didn't think of it much in old Paree."

"Paris? Wow you do get around! For a poo-," I stopped mid-sentance. "I mean, a limited means.."

"Go on, a poor guy, you can say it." He said, interrupting my rudeness. Wow, he's very real and utterly amazing. A wonderful guy to be around. When I turned the page, a woman was exposed. Beautiful and naked.

"Well, well, well..." Jack blushed and I'm sure he quickly regretted letting me see his sketchbook. "And these were drawn from real life?" He nodded.

I turned to the next page and there she was again. By the third page, I knew something was up.

"You liked this woman. You used her several times." I pointed to the woman.

"Well, she had beautiful hands, you see." He pointed to her hands and when I turned the page, there she was again.

"I think you must have had a love affair with her."

"No, no, no, no, no, just with her hands. She was a one legged prostitute, see?" He turned to the next page and there she was. Stood up. Naked and with only one leg.

"That's the good thing about Paris; women are willing to take their clothes off. Aah, she had a good sense of humor, though. " He turned to the next page. It was of a stubby woman wearing tons of jewls. "Oh, and this lady, she used to sit at this bar every night wearing every piece of jewelry she owned. Just waiting for her long lost love. I called her Madame Bijoux. See her clothes are all moth eaten."

How can someone exist like this? Noticing people and listening to them. He's so unreal.

The setting of the sun was glistening off Jack and it showed how alive and carefree he is.

"Wow, you have a gift Jack, you do. You see people" I said as I stared into his blue eyes. They're so mysterious, but longing. Like they're calling for me.

"I see you." He said, staring back.

"And what?" I chuckled.

"You wouldn't have jumped."

We suddenly became serious and the playful mood was gone. He noticed that and changed the subject.

"Hey, we should walk a little more."

"Okay. Jack, tell me about your goals."

"Well, when I was in Paris, i've always wanted to be on the paper."

"You know my dream has always been to just run away and become an artist. Living in the garret poor, but free!" He laughed.

Free. The word lingers on my tongue and I savor the taste. Free to do anything and be anyone I want, not having to obey the rules of society.

"You wouldn't last two days! There's no hot water and hardly ever any caviar."

"I happen to hate caviar! And hate when people tell me what dreams I should and shouldn't have!"

"You're right. I'm sorry." He apoligized.

"Well allright. Everybody expects me to be this delicate little flower, which i'm not! I'm sturdy, strong as a horse! I'm here to do something not just sit around and be decorative." I stretched out my hands and waved them around. "You see these hands? They were made for work."

As I said that, a butler came towards me.

"Would you like something miss? Care for some tea or caviar?"

"NO!" I yelled and Jack laughed at the poor man.

"There's something in me Jack. Like a dynimo, I feel it. I don't know what it is, whether I should be an artist or a sculptor or a, I don't know, a dancer like Isadora Dunkin! A wild pegan spirit! Or a moving picture actress!" Jack and I both laughed histerically as I did some overly dramatic poses.

"Jack, tell me about your artist life!"

"Well, before I was an artist I was logging man. It seemed like too much work, so I went down to Los Angelas to the pier in Santa Monica. That's a swell place, they even had a rollercoaster. I sketched portraits there for ten cents a piece."

"A whole ten cents!"

"Yeah, it was great money. I could make a dollar a day, sometimes. But only in summer, when it got cold. I head down to Paris to see what real artists were doing." Santa Monica to Paris? He really does get around. I want to travel with him. Imagine what adventures we'd go through!

"Why can't I be like you Jack? Just head on over the horizon, whenever I feel like it! Say we'll go there sometime, even if we only talk about it."

"Nah, nah, we'll do it. We'll drink cheap beer and go on the rollercoaster until we throw up! And we'll ride horses on the beach. But, you have to ride like a cowboy, none of that side-saddle stuff." I laughed.

"You mean one leg on each side?" I asked. He nodded. "Can you show me?"

"Sure, if you like." He answered.

"Teach me to ride like a man."

"And chew tabacco like a man." He said in a southern accent.

"And,. SPIT like a man." I said, trying my best southern accent.

"What? They didn't teach you that in finishing school?" He mocked.

"No."

"Then, come one i'll show you!"

"What? Jack no!" He pulled me to the side of the boat. "No! Jack! I couldn't possibly!"

"Now, watch closley!" He arched his head and spat out onto the ocean. It went far, really far. And even made a little splash as it hit the water.

"That's disgusting!" I yelled!

"Okay, your turn."

I spat really quickly, for I was embarrassed someone was going to see me.

"That was pitifull! You really got to hawk it up."

I hawked all I could until I felt a huge ball on my tongue. I spat it using my best strength and speed. It went far, but didn't make a splash like his.

"Better. Put some body to it this time!"

We both started to practically gargle, when I noticed my mother and her friends. She stared at us in horror. I yelled to Jack and pointed to them.

"Mother, may I introduce Jack Dawson. The man who saved my life. And who'll be coming to dinner with us tonight." When I turned to gesture to him, I saw his figure. He was suddenly tense and doing his best to impress my mother. Although, he did have leftover spit on his chin.

"Charmed i'm sure." She responded dryly.

"Cal told me what you did, and well Jack, it sounds like you're a good man to have around in sticky spot-" Mollie started to say. Out of nowhere, the dinner horn was blown. Loud and obnoxious.

"Why do they insist on always announcing dinner like a damn calvary charge?" Mollie complained. Jack and I laughed.

"Shall we go dress mother? Goodbye Jack, see you at dinner!" I waved to him and couldn't help but notice Mollie Brown was already talking to him.

A/N: This is the second chapter and I hoped you like it!

Last Updated: 7/6/12