Okay, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, and a bunch of more sorrys for keeping you all with this update. I had been waiting for my editor to work her magic on this chapter but she got too busy, so I'm taking the risk of putting this up and hoping it will be as good as the other two chapters. Thanks to EACH and EVERY person that reviewed, even to those who only read it without reviewing, I'm glad you're all liking this. So, here's what you've all been waiting for, Chapter 3.

Enjoy.


Chapter 3: And when the two collided…

A heavy yawn passed on Kory's lips. When was the last time she had a proper night's sleep? It felt like weeks. She decided on heading back to her cabin to sleep off her tiredness, at least before duty calls for the "Ambassador's Daughter." As she walked the deck she took out her compact mirror to check the bags under her eyes.

"I definitely need some shut eye."

She was so focused in thought she was too late to notice before she collided into someone, as they both had turned the corner at the same time. She fell hard on her buttocks and didn't appreciate the pain she was getting from her fall.

"Why don't you look where you're going?" she snapped.

The stranger stared at her fallen form intently at first, then scowled. "Me? Obviously you must've been staring into that mirror of yours because if you hadn't, we wouldn't have ended up on the floor. You're too vain to watch your step." The stranger turned out to be Dick, who was irritated enough as it was, and he wasn't in the mood to play an act, even for a beautiful woman. Meanwhile Kory was fuming at his harshness.

"Excuse me? Who are you to call me vain, Mr-I'm-wearing-Armani? And it's not like it's a crime for one to look in the mirror. I'm sure you do it A LOT."

"At least I don't carry one around with me everywhere I go."

"No. You carry a bottle of gel everywhere you go. There's so much in your hair right now I can see it dripping off." She stood up using the rails of the ship for support and brushed herself down, fixing her hair and making sure she didn't look like she just had a tumble. "Well, as much I like wasting time talking to buffoons, I have to go."

"Then go, don't let me stop you," he scoffed at her, motioning with his hands mockingly to show her the way. She glared dangerously at him and muttered something that only he could hear before walking off, "Everyone's a snob on this ship."


Her head hurt. Where was Ryan with that medicine, she asked for it twenty minutes ago. Kory's parents were off somewhere doing God knows what, she really didn't care, while she herself was lying down in the suite she shared with Ryan. Where the hell was he? Of course, he probably met some bimbo on the way, trying to get her phone number or a date…or both. He used to be so innocent before, now it's hard to believe he's acting like some kind of playboy. He won't even listen to her anymore, it's not like she bossed him around as much as her older sister did anyway. She heard the door opening and sure enough it was Ryan, with lipstick on his cheek. Kory rolled her eyes.

"Have fun while getting my medicine, Ryan?"

"Dammit! I knew I forgot something."

Kory's eyes widened at him in horror. "What? You mean to say you forgot?!"

"Nah, just kidding, here's your medicine," he said tossing her the bottle of pills. It nearly hit Kory but she caught it just in time.

"I swear Ryan one of these days I'll..."

"You'll what, huh? Come on, face it, you love me too much to wanna hurt me."

It was true, Kory had always been fond of Ryan, she had looked after him when he was younger, and the two were closer than they were with their older sister, Karen. They had watched each other's backs and kept a close bond, no matter what they went through. Kory only wished that he hadn't changed the way he did, the old Ryan she remembered was more decent, more down to earth, more…innocent. She would never understand why he changed.

Ryan handed her a glass of water to take with her pills. "You gonna be alright?"

"I will be," she said lying back down after washing down the pills.

"Good, coz I'm off."

"Off? Where are you going?" she asked curiously.

"Angelina's waiting for me," he replied grabbing his blazer from the chair.

"Angelina?" She questioned, arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah, she was watching me in the dining hall at lunch, and man, was she hot? I think she's from Italy. Do you think she'd like those nachos they have here, because if I ask her out I need to treat her to something good…but what if she's allergic or something? That will be a real screw up and she'll probably never want to see me again and…"

Kory blocked out the rest of his rambling and shook her head disapprovingly. She could tell her brother was asking for trouble, she could see it a mile away, but then again he hardly listened to her anymore, so why should she care?

After hearing Ryan leave closing the door behind him Kory decided to take the opportunity to rest her eyes in the hopes that it will do her head some good. She glanced at her watch after a few minutes and saw that it was 3:15 pm. It made her remember that tonight was going to be that big dinner she'd been hearing so much about, and no doubt her father and his family were expected to make an appearance. Kory was already trying to think of some excuse not to go, but if she knew her mother she would already have an outfit in mind for Kory to wear, including the jewelry to go with it. She didn't appreciate being paraded around like she was some kind of float, exposed to the judgmental opinions of those stuck up women, and attracting the attention of those chauvinistic men. It was no use, her parents were going to make her go whether she liked it or not. She may as well face facts and just deal with it.


"What happened Dick, you seem more upset than when I saw you last?" Bruce questioned his ward as he passed him by.

"It was...nothing. Just nothing," he replied heading down the long hallway to his own suite. He wanted to say that he was knocked down by a self-centered brat of a girl, but he decided against that, thinking it would serve him no pity from his billionaire father.

"Alright, but don't forget..." Bruce called out to him, "There's that dinner tonight and I want to see you in the Banquet Hall at seven pm sharp."

Dick groaned. "Aw man, why does that have to be tonight?"

"Dick?" Bruce asked still awaiting his reply.

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry, I'll be there," he said, and continued walk, turning a few corners here and there until finally reaching his room. These were the kind of times that made him want to call up Vic and Gar and invite them out to the bar, but as he was trapped on a ship that option was clearly unavailable. As he entered his suite he couldn't help wondering what they were doing now.

It was Saturday afternoon so Gar would be just getting home from his clinic; he probably stopped at the video store on the way back to rent that new horror movie that was just released on DVD. Gar wasn't really one for the theatre, though he didn't mind going with his friends. He really preferred to sit at home with his microwave bowl of popcorn and just enjoy the movie, whether by himself or with company.

And then there was Vic. Dick knew how obsessed Vic could get with his car, he'd most likely still be working on it right now. Nothing could tear him away from that thing, adding on more upgrades, tuning this, fixing that and who knows what else. He needed a girlfriend, Dick and Gar both knew it. They even tried to set him up once or twice with who they thought were Gotham's cream of the crop, but that only resulted in a fuming Vic threatening Gar and Dick that if they ever want to live to see the light of day, they had better quit playing matchmaker for him. It was discovered later on that Vic's last date had thrown up…in his car, and then expected him to pay for her dry cleaning because she claimed that he was the one driving recklessly to begin with, causing her little mishap. The date before that one wasn't much better either, as she called his car a heap of junk.

Dick sighed while sitting in the chair by the window. He had to admit, if he didn't have those two clowns to remind him of reality he'd probably go insane. He knew one thing; he was far away from anyone who was even close to as normal as they were.


Later that evening Myan and his wife, Lou-Anne Anders were getting ready to leave their room for the special dinner that had been planned that night in the Banquet Hall. Kory and Ryan were there with them, watching as their mother was rummaging through her purse, while their father was brushing off his suit one last time. They had shown up just recently after their parents had requested to see them to explain a few things before the big night.

"Now Kory, your father and I are going a little early but I want you and your brother to be there on time. Is that understood?"

Kory nodded with a weak smile.

"And Ryan," Myan continued, "I don't want you wandering off this time, there are going to be a lot of important people there and they're going to want to meet you."

"Yes Dad," Ryan replied, a hint of annoyance in his voice. Myan would've given his son a glare but his wife was holding his gaze steady towards her while she was fixing his tie.

"Now Kory," her mother began, "I've left that dress in the closet in your room for you to wear. You remember right? It's the one your aunt Phoebe had gotten you. I had it adjusted a little."

"But Mom…" Kory protested.

"And you see that box over there?" Her mother motioned with her eyes to the dresser where Kory saw a black square looking thing. "I want you to put that on with it."

Kory went over to the box and opened it to see a sparkling jeweled diamond necklace with matching ear rings. She grimaced at the sight. It wasn't that she didn't like the set, it was just she knew it was going to make her a pest magnet. She wasn't looking forward to the attention she would be getting, as if these people really cared. She'd been through it all before, they would be drawn to her for reasons she didn't care to understand, put on a fake act of admiration for her and how they think she is to die for, and the minute she leaves she knew they would be picking out her flaws, making snide comments behind her back. That's all they did, her sister had told her about it. Karen knew more about what these people were like; she hated being around them as much as Kory did.

Kory inwardly cursed her sister for squirming her way out of this one, she was probably out to some party at one of her friend's place right now, either that or she was at a night club somewhere. Kory then noticed she still had the box in her hand.

"Mom! Do I have to wear this? Can't I just put on some light jewelry instead?"

"Nonsense! You're the Ambassador's Daughter, the least you could do is look presentable."

"But I..."

"End of discussion Kory. Now hurry up and get dressed. I don't want you two being late, understood?"

"Yes Mom," replied Ryan and Kory unenthusiastically as they left their parent's room to go to theirs.

As Kory was exiting after Ryan she paused in the doorway to look back at her parents. They were completely engrossed in their own preparations; her mother was dashing around the room frantically, getting this and that, her father was checking to see if the Rolex watch still looked good as new as when he had received it as a gift from the President of France. A silent sigh escaped her lips, and Kory wondered if this was how they would continue to live through their lives, without so much as noticing how their own children felt, no heart to heart discussions, no real support, and no time. An Ambassador and his family have a duty to the people, to stand as good role models, that was how it always was, how it always had been, but that wasn't how Kory wanted it to stay.


The huge Banquet Hall was designed especially for this occasion. In the first hour most of the guests were already there, it seemed that they were all excited for this night to begin, hence arriving early. There were a few mere minutes left till seven o'clock and Dick had just left his suite and was stumbling through the hallways to get to the dinner on time.

"Bruce is going to kill me if I'm not there," he said to himself.

He ran all the way, not caring who stared or what they thought. Finally he spotted the double doors to the Banquet Hall where two people in uniform were opening them for a couple to enter. He stopped just a few feet to fix his disheveled hair and suit from all the running he did, then taking one deep breath, he entered through the doors held open for him and made his way inside into the bustling crowds of people.


"Come on Kory, hurry up," Ryan yelled as he waited outside their suite.

"Alright, alright, I'm just putting on my shoes," she yelled back.

Ryan paced slowly back and forth wondering when his sister would be done, then suddenly, the door opened and Kory emerged in a beautiful green dress.

"I feel like a Christmas Tree," she droned, fingering the jewelry her mother made her wear.

"At least you don't have to wear this bow tie. Look at me, I'm going to be a laughing stock."

"At least you can breath, this corset is killing me. Mom made it so tight before she left."

"Alright come on, Angelina's going to be thinking I ditched her."

"Oh yeah, we wouldn't want to be late for Angelina." she teased.

"Shut up and let's just go."

They trudged on towards the hall where they could hear the party had already started. The entrance was in sight.

"Don't stand so close," Kory said, pushing Ryan away, "People will think…you know…that we're together."

They stood at the entrance and the footmen opened the doors for them. As soon as they went inside they immediately parted and went their own separate ways.


"I see you've made it then," Bruce said, appearing beside Dick.

Dick glanced back at him with his champagne in his hand. "Yep. So how long have you been here?"

"A while," he said eying some of the guests. "There were some people I wanted to talk to."

"Business…or business?"

"We can't always have fun Dick. There's a time and place for everything, but not here, and not now."

Dick rolled his eyes making sure Bruce didn't see, apparently he had spotted someone else who waved a hand motioning him to come over. "Well I hate to leave you all alone Dick but…"

"Let me guess, you've got more business to attend to."

Bruce gave him a slight smile and walked away, leaving his ward to do…well, whatever he wanted.


Kory had just managed to escape the group of women who flocked over to her; they admired her like they always did, pretending to be impressed, commenting on her appearance. What a joke. Did they really expect her to buy into their crap? She had to get away, she needed something, and that something happened to pass her by on a silver tray. She quickly grabbed the champagne before it was out of reach, and took a large gulp.

"Now this is better," she thought standing against the table at the end of the hall.

She could see Ryan sitting at a table talking to a girl; she assumed that was the Angelina he had been referring to. Her parents were doing what they always did, talking, mingling, laughing away. Kory took another sip of her drink, before taking another from the waiter, and then another. She got the feeling there was someone standing a few feet from her, probably gawking at her intently, but at that point she really couldn't care.


Dick wandered around the hall, bumping into people who gave him a quick hello before continuing their conversations with someone else. He was already bored out of his mind. It wasn't until then when he noticed a girl standing alone drinking her champagne that engrossed his attention; he wouldn't have thought anything of her if he hadn't seen the number of empty wine glasses by her side as she put down another one, and taking one more from the trays that came by. She was looking to get drunk; and this might be the only interesting thing he was going to see all night.

He wandered closer, careful not to alert her to his presence and just stood a small distance away watching her. As he saw her he realized she was the same girl that he bumped into earlier that day. He wondered why she wasn't among the crowds enjoying herself, instead of looking just as fed up as he did. He watched on as she seemed to sway a little but kept her balance on the table. After steadying herself she began to walk away. Where she was going he had no idea, until Dick realized she was heading to leave…


Kory found her way onto the deck of the ship, she needed some fresh air. The sea was calm as the ship glided across the waters, the moon full as the stars shone brightly in the night sky. She rested her back against the rails taking small sips of the drink she brought with her. The she heard a sound…
He followed her to the deck, watching her stumble every now and again. Even though she was drunk she still looked beautiful in the moonlit sky, letting the wind caress her face. He continued to stare as she took off the jewelry she was wearing and put them inside her purse, setting it down on the ground beside her. He slowly got closer to her, but as it was dark something made him trip and he fell against a deck chair.

"Whose there?" he heard her call out.

Dick quickly jumped up and emerged into view. She stared at his face for a moment with a cold look, then turned around to face the ocean. She didn't know who he was, nor did she care, she just couldn't care less for seeing anyone right now. "I'm here to have a private moment, so if you don't mind..."

Dick said nothing, nor did he move, only continued to stare. Kory glanced back after a while and was already getting more annoyed.

"Shouldn't you be somewhere?"

"Yeah, but I got bored, so I thought watching you get drunk will be the only entertainment I'll get tonight."

"Well you can…" That was all Kory could say as she swayed some more and was beginning to look like she was going to collapse. Dick leapt forward and caught her just in time, but instead she wriggled out of his grasp like an irritated child.

"Would you get away from me? God!" she said pushing him.

"Well excuse me for helping," Dick said sounding irritated.

"Who said help? Did I say help? And for your information I can handle my own."

But Dick noticed her swaying again. "I better get you a chair, hold on to the rail okay?" he said placing her hands firmly on the ship's rail guards.

He went off to get the deck chair he tripped over but when he turned around, he saw that Kory had climbed on to the ship's rails and was holding her arms out shouting, "Look, I can fly. Weeee."

Dick's heart rate quickened. "Hey you!" he shouted. "Get down from there, you're going to fall!"

"I won't fall," she said, giggling, "I can fly."

"Look, seriously! Don't move!"

"You can't tell me what to do. Now let me just..." The ship made a sharp jerk making Kory lose her balance and fall into the water.

"No!" Dick couldn't believe what just happened. It was panic time.


"Have you seen Kory?" Myan asked Lou-Anne as he pulled her aside from her group of friends. "I can't find her anywhere."

"Why no, I haven't. Why?"

"I wanted to announce the engagement and I can't do that if she's not here."

"Well perhaps Ryan knows where she is. Look, I see him over there."

Myan spotted Ryan talking to a girl, (the same girl Kory had seen him with) and strode over to where he was sitting, followed by Lou-Anne.

"Ryan."

Ryan turned around, startled. "Dad, can't you see I'm busy?" he said, trying to hint with his eyes to the girl beside him.

"Where's your sister?" he said, focused on the issue at hand.

"Who, Kory? She should be around here somewhere," he said, showing hardly any concern.

"Ryan, this is important," his mother urged. "Now answer your father."

"I last saw her standing over there at that table, I think." His parents' gaze followed Ryan's finger towards where he was pointing to.

"Did she tell you she was leaving?"

"No, Dad. As I remember she wanted to stay as far away from me as possible."

Myan was getting annoyed. "If she's not here then where is she?"

"She may have gone back to her room," Lou-Anne suggested.

"Or maybe she's with a guy and they're both alone somewhere." Ryan's comment, though humorous, only earned himself stern glares from his parents.

"I'm getting worried," Lou-Anne said, "It's not like her to disappear like this, not without telling us. I've got a bad feeling something isn't right."

"Come on mom," Ryan said, "How much trouble could she possibly get into?"


Dick was frantically putting on his life jacket, he had to hurry, something inside him screamed at him not to let her drown. He grabbed a second life jacket and dived into the water, Kory had submerged just as he jumped in but he went under and pulled her up before she could swallow too much water.

"Would you hold still?" he said trying to put the jacket on her.

"Who are you?" she said dazedly. "You're cute."

Dick rolled his eyes. "Can you swim?"

"Stupid question! How can she swim when she's drunk?"

They both bobbed up and down in the water, Kory with her arms loosely around his neck while Dick thinking of a way to get themselves out of their predicament. Suddenly he realized the ship was getting further away from them.

"Hey! Stop! We need help here!"

But it seemed no one had heard him, and the ship showed no sign of stopping as it sailed further and further away...


So there you have it. Hope you like it.