Oh my gosh, I can't believe how long it's been since I've written something! I blame it all on year 11 and all the homework/assignments my teachers just love torturing me with. Anyway, here's the next chapter.

April 12th, 1912

Morning

Last night I had so much fun. Aiden took me for a tour around the entire ship. He even took me down to the Second Class and Third Class quarters! We started off going down in the elevators to the Second Class deck and wandered around a bit.

I met a few people; most of them were young girls who were, once again, swooning over Aiden. Hello again, green monster of jealousy. After walking around, we proceeded down a flight of stairs that led to the Third Class deck. At first I was terrified of going down there, but Aiden assured me that nothing would happen. He just wanted to introduce me to a few of his friends. We walked past heaps of people who were crowded in the corridors, all of whom were staring at me. Oh, I how I wished I wasn't still wearing my dinner gown.

I walked quietly behind Aiden, trying to keep the terrified expression off my face. I could've sworn that I saw several of the third class young women laughing at me. How dare they laugh at me?!

Aiden turned down another corridor then knocked on one of the doors. The door opened and a young boy, who looked to be the same age and height as Aiden, stepped out and grinned. The boy had brown hair and hazel eyes. He also had really white, straight teeth.

"I wondered where you had gotten to," the boy said grinning mischievously, "We were getting worried." Aiden just laughed.

"You? Worried about me?" Aiden asked laughing, "Never heard of such a thing." They both laughed, and then Aiden turned and looked at me. The other boy looked at me as well.

"Ahh, so this is where you've been disappearing to," the boy said, nodding wisely, "you've ditched us for the rich folks. You do realise you'll never get anywhere with them? They're daughters are way to snobby."

"I'm not a snob!" I burst out, then covered my mouth with my hands and blushed. Aiden just laughed.

"No, this one isn't a snob," Aiden said as he removed my hands, "she's just a little different from the others."

"Different how?" the other boy asked, looking me up and down.

"She's my friend," Aiden stated as the other boy cracked up laughing.

"You're actually her friend?!" the boy said, "are you sure you're friends, or is that just what she says to keep you happy and away from her family?"

"No, we're friends," Aiden said, frowning, "I'm going to teach her how to loosen up and act normal."

"Oh, so you're a teacher now?" the boy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, I am," Aiden responded.

"Are you going to teach her....our ways?" the boy asked, giving Aiden an intense look before inspecting me again.

"Eventually, yes," Aiden said, somewhat sadly, "I'll have to teach her our ways." The boy just nodded.

"Excuse me, I don't mean to be rude, but what exactly are your ways?" I asked. Both boys just looked at me.

"You'll find out sooner or later," Aiden said, smiling reassuringly, "but for now, I think it'd be nice if we were invited inside." He gave the other boy a pointed look.

"Of course," the boy said bowing and giving a little flourish, "come inside, my liege, and his lady friend." I looked at him oddly as we entered the cabin. There were two sets of bunks, both pushed up against the wall. A sink and a mirror were against the back wall near the porthole. Two more boys were sitting on the bottom bunks. They eyed me curiously for a bit, and then returned to doing whatever they were doing.

"Boys, I'm home!" Aiden shouted, his arms outstretched as he pounced on the other two boys and wrestled them to the floor. I pressed up against the door behind me as I tried to stay out of the path of the wrestling boys. The boy with the brown hair, who had opened the door, soon joined the fight. I didn't know what to do so I just stayed against the wall. Finally I heard someone shout "I give, I give!" and all the boys surfaced from the floor with big, stupid grins on their faces. I looked at them with what might have been horror on my face.

"Who's the rich brat?" one boy asked. He had messy red hair, a freckly face, and moss green eyes.

"Aiden's play toy," the boy with the brown hair answered.

"She's not my play toy," Aiden said, tossing a pillow at the brown haired boy, "she's my friend."

"Oooh, you're friend," the fourth boy said. He had bright blond hair that covered his dark eyes, and a wicked grin exactly like Aiden's. I stared at the four boys; they stared back at me in return. Finally I found the courage to speak.

"Who are you?" I asked. The boys blinked.

"Oooh, she can speak," the blond haired boy snickered.

"Of course I can speak," I said, thoroughly offended.

"That's not what he meant," Aiden said, swatting the blond boy upside the head.

"Yeah, he meant that you can actually speak to poor buggers like us," the red head said. I just gaped at him. They all thought I was a snobby rich brat! Did Aiden think I was a snobby rich brat?

"Of course she can speak to us," Aiden said, glaring at all three of the boys, "I said she was my friend, didn't I?" The others nodded and looked sheepish.

"You got a name, sugar?" the blond boy asked. I just looked at him, then at Aiden. Aiden nodded.

"Yes," I answered, my voice shaking slightly.

"Then what is it?" the red haired boy asked, smirking slightly.

"Atlanta," I answered softly.

"Atlanta?" the brown hair boy said.

"Yes, Atlanta," I repeated, "but my family just calls me Lana."

"What's your last name?" the blond boy asked.

"Why do you need to know?" I asked, narrowing my eyes suspiciously at him.

"He doesn't need to know," Aiden said, coming to my rescue, "he's just being an idiot." Everybody laughed, except me of course.

"Are you going to introduce us to her, Aiden, or are you going to be rude?" the brown haired boy asked.

"Of course I was going to introduce you to her," Aiden said, scratching the back of his head, "I just wanted her to get used to you guys before I did."

"From the look on her face, I don't think she'll ever be used to us," the red head said. I just looked at him coldly.

"Fine, I'll introduce you," Aiden said sighing, "Atlanta, these guys are my friends. We're travelling together to America. We're hoping to start new lives there."

"You're friends?" I repeated, "Do they do the same job as you?"

"Ah, no. Not exactly," Aiden said, blushing slightly, "I'm, um, I'm not a cleaner." The other boys erupted into fits of laughter.

"You're not a cleaner?" I asked, a fresh wave of fear sweeping through me.

"Um, no," Aiden said, trying not to laugh.

"Then what are you?" I asked. Something in my tone of voice must've triggered something because Aiden looked up at me and studied my face.

"Don't be afraid, Atlanta," Aiden said, standing up slowly as if not to frighten me, "we're not going to hurt you."

"At least not right away," the red head said. I didn't know whether he was joking or not, but my face paled all the same.

"Atlanta, please," Aiden said quietly, "I won't hurt you. I didn't mean to lie to you, but you wouldn't have talked to me if I had told you the truth."

"And what is the truth?" I asked quietly. Although I was speaking softly, you could obviously hear the rage in my voice because all the boys had stopped their quiet chatter and the smirks were gone from their faces.

"The truth is that I am just a passenger, like you," Aiden said, watching my face carefully, "except that I'm not first class, like you. I'm third class and poor. Poor as hell. But I desperately wanted to be friends, so I lied about who I was. I'm dreadfully sorry. Do you think you could forgive me?" I looked at the boy standing in front of me with a cold, calculating look. Aiden had lied to me, and embarrassed me in front of his friends. Plus he was third class, which was practically worse than being a cleaner or a crewman on this ship. How could I forgive him when he had lied to me? I couldn't think of any reasons to forgive him, no matter how hard I tried. I just wanted to walk away from this room and from all the boys and never speak to Aiden again. But I didn't want to hurt Aiden all the same. Even though he had lied, he was the only person who had actually spoken to me out of free will, not because they felt obligated to speak to me. I made my decision and looked Aiden square in the eyes. I saw his throat convulse as he gulped and awaited my reply.

"Lying isn't a good way to start a friendship," I said quietly, my strong gaze never wavering from his face.

"I know," Aiden said quietly, "but what other choice did I have?"

"You could have told me the truth, even if it did mean that I'd never speak to you," I said, "I hate liars. Absolutely hate them. I hate them more than I hate smokers or drunks."

"Or third class citizens," red head remarked. I just glared at him, which made him shut up.

"I really am sorry, Atlanta," Aiden said, hanging his head in shame, "and I'll understand if you leave now and never speak to me again."

"Oh, I'm not going anywhere," I said. Aiden's head shot up, his green-blue eyes full of surprise.

"You're not?" he asked, a wide grin spreading across his face.

"No, I'm not," I said, gritting my teeth, "I came here to learn a lesson, and learn I will. No matter what type of person you are or who you associate with." Aiden smiled grudgingly.

"Speaking of associates," the brown haired boy said, "I'm Riley." And he swept me up into a bone crushing hug.

"Nice to meet you, Riley," I breathed, rubbing my sore sides. The blond boy stepped up next and hugged me, too.

"I'm Lucas," he whispered in my ear, "Aiden's deranged brother." I laughed as Lucas set me down and grinned.

"And you?" I asked, nodding at the red haired boy. He offered me a glare.

"That's Feliks," Lucas said, "I don't think he likes you."

"Feliks doesn't like anyone," Riley said, frowning, "especially girls."

"I like girls fine enough," Feliks growled, "I just don't particularly like first class girls. And I don't care what you say Aiden, she looks like a rich brat to me. Smells like one too." And he wrinkled his nose and spat on the floor.

"Ugh! Did you have to do that?" Lucas said, disgusted.

"Yes," Feliks replied.

"Why?!" Lucas exploded, "I'm the one who always has to clean the room! It's disgusting and annoying!"

"Calm down, Lucas," Aiden said, "It's not that bad."

"Not that bad? Not that bad?!" Lucas fumed, "have you smelt your socks?! They STINK!" I couldn't help but laugh. Lucas looked at me then started laughing too. And to think I had been afraid of these boys when they were perfectly fine. Well, all of them were fine except Feliks. He kept giving me weird looks and I couldn't help but get the urge to run for my life. The look was kind of predatory, like a look a starving or angry lion would give to a poor defenceless antelope. I started to settle down and enjoy myself, listening to all the weird jokes the boys traded. I laughed at the few that I got, and frowned at the majority that I didn't get. When I looked out the porthole, I couldn't see anything. For a while I stupidly wondered why I couldn't see anything when I realised that it must've gotten dark. I jumped to my feet and apologized, saying that I had to leave quickly or Father would be worried. Instead of just Aiden walking me back, Riley and Lucas accompanied me as well. It was quite nice, just the three of us walking through the crisp night air. I bade goodnight to the boys at the top of the Grand Staircase. As I was walking down, Aiden called out to me.

"Don't forget about Lesson Two tomorrow!" Lesson Two? Whatever happened to Lesson One? Ah well, it didn't really matter.

Well, now that I have finished talking about last night, I had better tell you about this morning. I woke up quite early, which is very unusual for me. Father even asked if I was feeling alright when I joined him for breakfast on the private deck. I told him I was fine, and that I just wanted to hurry up and meet some of my new friends. Father was ecstatic when I told him about my new friends, although I left out the part about them being boys and from third class. I told him about the girls I had briefly met last night down in second class. Father told me to hurry up and get dressed, because he didn't want me to be late when meeting my friends. I kissed father on the cheek and told him I probably wouldn't be back until it was time for dinner. Father had no problem with that.

I rushed back to my suite and put on my most plain dress. It was a creamy yellow cotton dress, with a matching ribbon for my hair. I decided to leave my long black hair out, not caring that it would be dreadfully knotty at the end of the day. I stood in front of my full length mirror and studied myself. I wasn't beautiful or gorgeous like most other girls my age. I was just merely pretty. I was fairly tall for my age, which my aunt would always complain about. I was skinny (yet another flaw), my skin was milk white and as soft as a baby's, my eyes were almond shaped and a deep brown flecked with green and gold. I had high cheek bones, full lips and a small jaw line. My raven black hair fell to my shoulders and was outrageously curly. My mother always used to tease me about my curly hair, saying that I had eaten the crusts on my bread too often. I envied my mother's beautiful straight black hair that shone in the sun. Lucky Amelia had inherited Mother's straight black hair, whereas I had inherited Father's unruly curls. I sighed and tore my eyes from the mirror. Why was my appearance so important to me now? Was it because I was now friends with three very handsome boys? No, that was highly unlikely. Then why in God's name do I always look in mirrors or windows and fix my hair??

Hmm, now that this is actually posted...I have no idea what to write next. Idea's anyone??

VampSa