*Sorry for the mixup!*

Wow, I hadn't realized I'd be uploading on New Years, aka my birthday. Huh. That's new. I could've skipped this week, but it's kind of a special occasion. Besides, this is a rad chapter if you'd ask me.

Austin had made the lounge his main base, since it granted him enough space to create a strategic plan on his laptop, while, at the same time, also giving him an excellent view of his main suspect. During the day, Keith spent his time tending the bar and waiting tables in the adjacent restaurant. And, at five pm sharp, the band rehearsed for their evening show.

While Walter was busy doing research on the other employees, desperately trying to find a connection between Keith and the organisation, Austin stayed in his corner of the lounge, sipping on non-alcoholic beverages. In contrast to the first day, today could be described as pleasantly ordinary. Maybe a little too much. Austin won't complain, though he feels like danger is always around the corner on the ship. He can't help but study his surroundings every few minutes. The lounge was starting to flood with tourists whose stomachs were stuffed with different edible cultures.

Hey, hotshot." Allison appears in front of him out of nowhere and leans forward by placing her palms on the table. With a single key, Austin opens up a photo editor program to hide his observation notes on Keith. Not that she could see the screen anyway, she's facing the back of the laptop and makes no effort to sneak a peek. "Got any plans tonight?"

Austin slowly closes his laptop, intrigued by this proposal. Whatever she had in mind, it would give him a great opportunity to collect some inside information on Keith from Allison. He knew he had to play this right, though, as a response too eager might make her suspicious or give her the wrong idea.

"Phil can't play tonight's show. Troubles at the home front," she rolls her eyes but adds an easy smile. She nods at the other side of the lounge, where Phil paces back and forth, one hand running through his hair in a stressed motion. Austin furrows his brow for a second, wondering whether the struggle he told him about the night before contributed to the tension between his fiancé and him. When he turns back to Allison, she's not where he left her. Instead, she's taken a seat next to him as she's batting her eyelashes, hoping this act will make her offer more appealing.

"We're in desperate need of a guitar player." Impersonating two legs with her index and middle finger, she lets them walk up against his arm with big jumps before tapping his nose. "And I remembered I heard you play last night."

"You heard that?" Both of them seem to ignore the event that took place that same moment outside the dressing room. Allison's face lacks any indication that she feels ashamed Austin had seen what happened with Keith. Austin had a hard time comprehending that the girl that had resembled a puppet with its strings cut and the confident looking woman currently flirting with him were the same person.

"Sounded a bit rusty, but that's basically the name of our band." She flashes another million-dollar smile. "Are you in?"

"If it would help you out." He hears it himself say it before he has time to consider. Was this a clever decision? Sure, he'd get to spend some time with both Allison and Keith, their current main suspects, but he'd be performing. What would Walter think? He'd surely be in the audience. And his dad? This is absolutely not the kind of behaviour he had discussed with him. He'll disappoint him.

Before he has time to second-guess his decision, Allison throws herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're my saviour." As some kind of automatism, his hands land on her back. Almost, he forgets about his doubt. Almost.

"Andrew, thanks for saving the night," Keith had greeted him with a bland smile and a weak handshake, though Austin had no recollection of ever telling him his name. Allison stays by his side, almost like she wants to make him feel more comfortable in case he'd decide to make a run for it. He gets right to business as if he doesn't feel like getting to know Austin a bit better is worth his time. "How familiar are you with Breakfast at Tiffany's?"

"The novel or the film?" You could call his knowledge of either above average, as he's written a thirty-page pager on the comparison between the two in high school, which created a short, yet strong obsession with the story and the characters. Keith's face couldn't possibly display more stun and judgement as his mouth falls slightly open.

"The song," he reminds him, a mercilessly aloof tone in his voice.

"Of course," Austin coughs shamefully. Keith hands him two pages of sheet music with lyrics as Allison giggles behind her hand. He studies them for a second. "If you give me fifteen minutes, I'll be ready."

"We go on in five. You know how Phil is with tardiness," Keith says, his face once again expressionless. As if the conversation is over, he turns around and finally grants Austin a clear sight of the back of his head. A black and grey tattoo of a spider web covers the nape of his neck, one-half visible and the other disappearing into his hair. He wonders whether there is some kind of meaning attached to it. Making an uncaring hand gesture, he shoos the two away. "Practice with him."

Allison's smile is wiped away instantly as she nods curtly. "Yes, Keith." Without another word, she grabs hold of Austin's sleeve and pulls him out the room.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the Golden lounge," Allison speaks into the microphone and waits for the few faint cheers to die down. "We're honoured to bring you tonight's entertainment and wish you a pleasant evening. We're gonna start off with "Breakfast at Tiffany's"."

Allison looks over her shoulder to give Keith a starting sign before shooting Austin an encouraging wink. He takes a deep breath and moves his fingers against the strings after he hears two drumsticks counting up from one to four. Allison's hips start swaying on the semi-slow rhythm. For a change, they had decided not to change the song up.

"You'll say, we've got nothing in common. No common ground to start from. And we're falling apart," she sings, clutching the microphone with both hands. "You say, the world has come between us. Our lives have come between us. Still, I know you just don't care." As the pace picks up, she glances at Austin, nodding as a reminder of his line coming up. He licks his lips nervously. It's just a song, it's not a big deal. But, at the same time, it is. He tries to scan the audience, looking for Walter sitting in his usual spot, but the lights blind him.

"And I said, 'What about Breakfast at Tiffany's?'," he sings, keeping his eyes interlocked with Allison's, as if the conversation in the song is happening, right here on stage. He's surprised at the decency of his voice and he can tell Allison is, too.

"She said, 'I think I remember the film.'." The dozen bracelets around her pulse sparkle and jingle as she touches her temple and raises her head slightly, acting out the lyrics. As the jewellery moves, in a flash, he finds a few faint red bruises on her wrist that were usually hidden. They disappear as her arm drops back down. "'And, as I recall, I think we both kinda liked it.'"

"And I said, 'Well, that's one thing we've got.'." Austin bites his lip as he grins, moving his fingers to keep up with the music. His nerves had faded and he's starting to enjoy the performance. His glee is contagious as Allison laughs, shaking her head to the beat so that her hair moves around joyfully. The audience seems to notice the difference in atmosphere from the night before as the people Austin can vaguely make out are moving in their seats.

The performance had made an impression on, not only the audience but also Allison and himself. Keith had remained expressionless and silent, as always. The three had moved to the bar, where Keith had served them and the guests until they were the only ones left sitting there, sipping fruity cocktails and strong shots. Alcohol was already clouding Austin's perception and slurring his words, though he liked to believe that this evening could result in an inside observation like he had not experienced before. Allison seemed to handle her liquor better, her words lacking any hint of slur.

Keith had watched the two from the corner of his eye as he served the guests. Even if he had seen Allison seemingly moving closer to Austin with every martini she was served, he didn't show any sign of being bothered by it. On the contrary, the second Allison let the final drop of liquor touch her tongue, a freshly made cocktail was presented without so much as a glance.

Once the clock stroke three, guests started leaving until the lounge was completely deserted. Keith empties the cash register and wipes down the bar.

"I'm going to bed. You can take whatever you need off the shelves." He gestures to the supply. "Don't stay out too late, Allison."

He ignores Austin as if he doesn't care whether he will even make it to his room at all. Allison and Keith share a look, a look that's longer than an ordinary glance, though you wouldn't notice if you hadn't paid enough attention. It carried a message, but Austin had trouble reading it. Even without the alcohol in his blood, he wasn't sure if he'd been able to decipher the cryptic statement. Austin decides that, obviously, the reason for the exchange must be Keith's distrust in the two in the presence of enough alcohol to cause a whole lot of bad decisions.

"So," Allison says once Keith has left the lounge, completely ignoring the past few minutes, driving at their performance, "that was quite something, wasn't it?"

"It felt amazing, honestly," he laughs, circling the golden beer by moving his glass mindlessly. "I hadn't played for an audience in years."

"You did well," she agrees, giggling. "Phil should hold tightly onto his job." Austin's grin falls. It's clear that the girl is totally clueless about Phil's situation. It feels crude to keep lying to her and keep a secret that could make her unhappy, so he changes the subject.

"No offence, but I like what I do." Looking down, he finds the camera still around his neck. He had worn it so often, it had seemed to become a part of him.

"I bet you do," Allison nods, looking at him curiously. "How's that, anyway? Being a travel writer."

"I see a lot of places, meet a lot of people." Luckily, his tipsy state had not influenced his ability to make up lies on the spot. The lies pile up and he wonders if she will ever find out how untruthful he has been to her. She doesn't look like she's going to be seeing through them anytime soon. "What about you? You must know the east coast of England like the back of your hand."

"Hate to disappoint you on that one." She brushes a lock of hair behind her ear shyly. "I haven't set foot on land in months."

"What?" His jaw drops. If she didn't take this job to visit a bunch of beautiful places, then what was the point? "Why?"

She shrugs like it's not a big deal. "Haven't felt the urge, I guess. Everything I need is on this ship." Making an arm movement, she gestures to the abandoned lounge, completely disproving her point. Sensing like she might mean Phil makes him feel horrible.

"If I'm totally honest, isn't this job a bit dull?" Allison smiles at his attempt at not sounding rude.

"It's safe," she responds. "The unknown isn't as great as everyone claims. I'd like for things to stay the same." If she's trying to make him feel sorry for her, she's doing a damn good job. If Austin wasn't convinced that Phil's resign would mess her up, he was now. From what he's hearing, she wants nothing more than to stay on the ship with Phil, for as long as possible.

"It can't be healthy to stay in the same place for such a long time," he tries to change her mind, though something tells him she's not budging easily on this. "You're missing out on all these amazing experiences."

She snickers while rolling her eyes. "You sound just like my brother."

"Well, maybe he's right." Allison's eyes snap up to his, for the first time lacking a happy sparkle. "Step out of your comfort zone. Change things up a bit. Take risks once in a while."

"I don't do risks," she says decisively. "I work on a cruise ship as the only entertainment option. The only risk that exists in my life is the chance that someone younger, prettier and with more talent comes along." Her attempt to justify her opinion falls flat as it simply makes it sound a bit sad. "Which I doubt because who would want to live on a ship with a crowd that is forced to listen to you?" She chuckles gloomily. "That's exactly the amount of risk I am willing to take."

"I take risks every day, you can't get what you want without bravery." Austin purses his lips right as the sentence escapes his lips. His alternate persona had slipped away for a second, figuring a travel writer is not exactly a job you could describe as 'risky'. As much as he hoped Allison wouldn't pick up on it, she did.

"You take risks as a photographer?"

"Sure," he nods, trying to create details to make himself more believable out of thin air. "Sometimes, at least. I do nature photography, too." He releases a breath of relief when he sees her eyebrows rise as a sign of conviction. "Anyway, haven't you ever felt the need to explore? Do something stupid for once?" He's out of line, he knows it. She could lash out at him. She doesn't.

"The only thing bravery gets you is trouble." She traces the rim of her glass, keeping her eyes focused on the last few drops in her glass like they represented the line between walking away and doing something she shouldn't. "Besides," she scoffs, "unlike Phil, I don't feel the need to commit to anything other than a job."

It sounds harsh, but she doesn't take it back. Allison disappears behind the bar to fix herself a new drink. It hits Austin, then. If she doesn't commit, then what's the deal with her and Keith? More importantly, does he dare to ask?

"So," he starts, drawing out the single syllable which draws Allison's attention. She awaits the continuation with her head tilt. "What you and Keith have..."

"Purely physical." Unbothered by the invasive question, she takes her bottom lip between her teeth and lets it snap back, as she focusses solely on pouring the exact amount of tequila like it is all that matters right now. Austin releases a noise that can only be described as amazement and a bit of hidden surprise. She picks up on it, leaning on the bar while cracking a half smile. "That's an impressive amount of judgement you just cramped into one sound."

Austin ducks his head in shame, smiling apologetically. "I'm sorry, you just seemed like a girl that was ready to meet her prince charming and live happily ever after." He can't believe he was so wrong about her. She really did put out mixed signals.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but life isn't that exciting." Shaking her cocktail, she avoids Autin's priming eyes. "So, spare yourself the effort and don't wait up for your Juliet. It's better to have fun while you still can." She winks, taking a big sip right from the shaker and, just like that, she's the same daring girl he knows. Austin isn't sure whether it's the alcohol, but he can't stand it anymore. The changes are messing with his head and he's had enough.

"So, what I'm hearing, and be sure to correct me if I'm wrong," he says, holding up a finger, his amused expression long gone, "this girl who is so terrified of finding real love in the real world, that she locks herself up and desperately says anything to make herself sound interesting enough to gain a pity look from a passer-by."

Allison's jaw has dropped and her eyes are narrowed. The sound of metal hitting wood echoes through the lounge as she slams the shaker down on the bar. She leans forward to make her face inch closer to Austin's.

"I'm more than you will ever know. Don't you dare make me sound so trivial because you have no fucking clue what you're talking about."

"Get over yourself, Allison," Austin spits, unimpressed by her objection. As a sign that he's not moved by her defensive attitude, he moves closer, too. "You try desperately to make me believe you're so mysterious while you're actually crystal fucking clear."

Allison smirks, biting her lip once more. "Is that so?"

After a few failed attempts, the door opens. Austin throws his keycard on the ground, much more occupied with the hands that are exploring his upper body, desperate for some piece of skin they haven't touched yet. Attached by the lips and a lot of other body parts, the two enter the room hurriedly. Once the door slams closed, Allison leans her back against it, pulling Austin tightly against her. Like he reads her mind, he reaches for the zipper on her dress. Once he manages to slip it off her shoulders, he notices she has already unbuttoned his shirt with impressive handiness.

His white shirt quickly falls to the floor and Allison lets her arms rest on his shoulders, picking up her priority of moving her lips against his again. Austin's hands find the door as a stable point, as he has to lean down a reasonable amount, now that Allison's heels have been abandoned on the floor. Pressing his body against hers, he hears her sigh as she leans back.

In a moment of inattention, Allison takes control as she pushes him off her. Walking slowly, she forces him to step back until he falls down on his bed. Moving her hands to her back, she undoes the clasp of her soft pink bra. Letting the fabric fall on the floor, studies him knowingly as a smile plays on her lips.

"Risky enough for you yet, hotshot?"

Well.

That went exactly as planned.

I look at the two, facing each other as they sleep soundly. I scoff.

She faithfully stuck to the role I wrote for her.

This little adventure should keep mister detective satisfied for a while.

That is if he manages to read more into it than it is. He will chase as she will retract.

The room is a mess. Clothes are scattered on the floor and I can almost picture last night's scene. I sniff in disgust.

As long as she sticks to the formula, everything should go fine until I leave this ship and never return.

Let's hope she remembers what to do next.

I snicker just before I let the door slam shut behind me.

January 1st will be a Monday. A fresh week, a fresh month, a fresh year. If you want to start over, do it. There's no possible better moment for it. For everyone who needs it, I wish you an amazing change in your life and I cannot wait to see how you turn your life around and amaze the rest of the world. Happy New Years.

L awesome 18

I absolutely love it so far! Your a great author. But I have a question. Do they call Ally, Allison throughout the whole story? - You're lovely, thank you! Great question. Yes. I understand it might seem annoying or different from what you're used to, but it makes sense, I promise. You'll understand eventually.