They had agreed to meet in an hour on land, right before the ship's exit. Austin couldn't deny he'd spend that time like he was getting ready for a date. Wasn't it one? After deciding on a shirt paired with a flannel on top of simple jeans, he hurries to the designated spot. His watch tells him he's right on time, though Allison is nowhere to be found. He adjusts the camera around his neck, he still had to fit his part, and semi-sits on one of the pillars as his sunglasses shield his eyes from the blazing sun.

It's only a minute later when Allison appears in the doorway of the ship, using her hand to block out the sun as she's examining the people on the dock, scouring for one person in specific. Once her eyes catch sight of Austin, she gives him a short wave paired with a smile before she makes her way down the stairs.

If it wasn't for the fact that he'd probably recognise her in any situation by now, he would've had to look twice. She'd exchanged her swirly dresses and skirts for jeans shorts, something he'd not seen her wear yet. Around her waist, she'd tied a plaid shirt and the hem of a loose-fitting top that ended exactly where the jeans began, so that, only when a breeze came along, an inch of skin was shown. Instead of heels, she was prancing converse. Her locket rests on her chest, as always.

"Woah," he breathes once she's made her way towards him, "you look..."

"Different?" She asks, touching the fabric of the plaid flannel, moving her feet like the shoes feel unfamiliar to her.

"I was going to say amazing, but, yes, that too." Allison giggles in response and moves the heart-shaped sunglasses from the top of her head onto her nose. Her hair is tied in a bun, curls spilling out lively. The combination makes her look young but in a good way. Austin gestures to the small town in front of them. "Shall we, then?"

"Now or never, I guess." While Austin tries to make sense of the comment, the two set into an easy pace along the town's boulevard. Admiring the buildings and the almost-clear blue sky that makes the ocean look a slightly less sad-grey, Austin attempts to figure out whether the silence is awkward or not. The nervous vibe Allison seems to put out makes him fear the worst. As he desperately grasps for a topic to introduce, while words fail him, Allison leads him to the side of the path where a half circle surrounded by a white, stone bannister, looking out colourful houses.

"Shouldn't you be taking pictures, hotshot?" Allison asks sarcastically while pushing the camera lightly so it swings against his chest. In response, he lifts the camera and points it at her. Once she figures out his next step, she covers the camera with her hand. "Not of me!" She laughs. "Of the view, it's gorgeous."

"Well, maybe you're part of the view for me," he responds sassily and Allison rolls her eyes before failing to hide her smile behind her hand.

"Excuse me!" They're interrupted by an elderly woman with a thick French accent who they hadn't noticed approached them. She points at the camera in his hand and asks politely, "Would you mind taking a picture of us?" She points at the man behind her, supposedly her husband. "You look like you know what you're doing."

"Not a problem," Austin replies with a nod before the lady presses a little Nikon in his hands. As the couple heads over to the edge of the platform and stands closely together as they pose for the picture, Austin raises the camera and works his way around the tiny device. After snapping a handful, the two thank him.

"Can we return the favour?" She gestures to Austin's camera before they have time to turn around. Austin and Allison share a look, surprised by the question and lacking the ability to form a reply right away. Finally picking up on the slightly opposed, nervous look in Allison's eyes, he refuses politely.

"Oh, no, we're good. Thank you," he says, shaking his head. The woman refuses to acknowledge his reply as she reaches for the camera around his neck anyway.

"Don't be silly! You'll curse yourself for not capturing enough memories later." She rushes Austin to hand over his camera. While lifting the strap over his head, he shoots an apologetic look towards Allison who just smiles shakily. "Now, get together, a bit closer." The two stand side by side, not making the extra effort to pose for the camera. The lady doesn't look like she's planning on taking any picture before they do and, looking at Allison, they both know it.

Murmuring an apology, thinking back at how Allison seemed ashamed about making suggestive moves the other night, Austin lies an arm around her shoulder. Her body shocks once he's touched her, but, much to Austin's surprise, she wraps an arm around his waist in response. Only after he hears two snaps from his camera, he notices he'd been looking down at the girl next to him in wonder after her brave move. He smiles at the camera for a few more seconds before the lady puts down the camera again.

"I hope that turned out alright," she smiles and grabs her husband's hand, "Have a nice day, you two!"

Austin scrolls through his camera roll and finds most shots blurred or crooked, but some turned out surprisingly nice. He refrains from staring at them for too long and hides his blush. Allison only has eyes for the couple walking away from them.

"I hope I'll still be in love like that at their age," she sighs before turning around to lean on the bannister.

Austin follows her movement and places his elbows on the white stone. "If you find the right person, you'll be set," he shrugs.

"You make it sound easy," she snickers cynically. Austin takes a second to review her negative attitude and notices her sarcastic smile turning in a frown.

"Well, maybe it is," he proposes carefully. Instead of lashing out, like he thought she might've done, she sighs, showing a tired expression as she detaches herself from the balustrade.

"Not for everyone, Austin," she says before she keeps walking towards the town, Austin quickly following. He stays quiet, wisely deciding to put the subject to a rest. Once they enter the centre, it becomes more crowded. Music emerges and people as colourful as the buildings they stand in front of surround them as they walk down a big street.

"I love street artists!" Allison exclaims, the past conversation long forgotten. A girl with white makeup, dressed in a brightly coloured red, Victorian dress smiles at them and performs an exaggerated curtsey before charmingly fanning herself with a beautiful white, silk fan. Allison copies her curtsey happily before walking on. "I always wonder what their motive is. For some it's a passion," she speaks before they pass a man sitting in the air, holding a large stick, creating the idea he's floating. On closer inspection, you can see his makeup seems slapped on and the stick is falling apart. "For some it's a final straw to make a living, to survive. But they all look the same on the surface." She admires the figures once more before sighing. "I'd like to think they enjoy doing it, as gullible as that may sound."

"Nothing wrong with being a little gullible sometimes," Austin chuckles. The irony of Allison calling herself the word he and Walter had described her as is almost mean.

"Look at those colours!" She ignores his comment as she points at a man who has a handful of colours painted on his face, his silly outfit in rainbow colours complementing his makeup. "I can't even be near any kind of makeup without swelling like a balloon."

As Allison is taking the time to absorb the beauty of the people around her, Austin takes his time to confirm her statement. He'd never noticed, but he'd never seen Allison with any kind of makeup. This explains the lack of makeup on the vanities in her dressing room. Allison touches his arm shortly and points at a man covered in gold.

"He looks amazing!" They make their way over to the artist to inspect him closely. Not only has his suit a beautiful golden shine, also his hat, his walking stick and his monocle are completely golden. He's standing frozen, perkily leaning on his walking stick, tipping his hat. As Austin digs in the pockets of his jeans, he finds a few pounds that he drops in the man's equally gold cup.

Statically, like a robot, he comes to life. After tipping his head, looking at Austin, he does a short robotic dance that looks, admittedly, quite good. Reaching into his pocket, the man lifts a little pendant and presents it to Austin. It's a tiny golden bell on a chain, representing a jingle bell, with a delicate pattern cut out, allowing you to see right through it. As Austin moves it, a happy tinkling is heard.

"A little early for Christmas, isn't it?" Austin asks the man in a joking matter. In return, he smiles and goes back to his original position.

"It's beautiful," Allison beams, letting the bell rest on the palm of her hand while Austin holds it by its chain. Austin thinks for a moment before dropping it in her hand.

"It's yours," he confirms with a nod towards the object once she raises her eyebrows in surprise. For a moment, he believes she's about to reach up and kiss his cheek, but she changes her mind last minute and settles for a 'thanks' paired with a blush.

After walking through the town for another hour, they decide on stopping for lunch. At a little café with a large terrace overlooking the square, they sit down. Even after they finished their food, they sit, talking about anything and everything. Though Austin tries to introduce the topic of Keith several times, she refuses to even acknowledge it. Instead, they discuss how fast the week went by, how long Allison's shifts had been, how Austin had found his first real investigation and how Phil had made up with his fiancé.

"Can you believe he's getting married soon?" Allison leans back in her chair and turns her head towards the sun. "It's all going so fast, he taught me how to ride my bike just yesterday."

Her light attitude surprises Austin. He thought she'd be more upset about him moving on with his life. "Are you happy for them?"

"Of course," she replies, "they're soulmates." Brushing a lock from her vision, she's unable to hide a glimpse of envy in her eyes. "I guess the thought of sharing him is weird to me. But he's getting older and life goes on."

"You're not wrong." He's not quite sure how to respond to her moment of vulnerability all of a sudden. She's exactly as dependent on Phil as Phil had feared. It was obvious this was the first time she'd had the chance to say it out loud, shown by the way she's avoiding his eyes desperately.

Suddenly, she releases a giggle. "I sure hope I won't take as long as Phil did, Jesus," she laughs. "I ain't waiting another fifteen years."

Austin bursts out in laughter with her. "Be sure to invite me, if I'm not dead by then." Allison snort laughs as she moves one leg over the other. Because of the movement, the plaid shirt that normally covered her upper thigh moves and shows a piece of skin Austin realizes he'd never seen before, for a reason he could easily imagine. Three dark red wounds, already healing, are spread out over the skin. They have the exact shape and size of a cigarette tip. He points at the skin. "Are those-?

Once Allison notices what he's seen, she covers her thigh up with the flannel again and lets out a fake giggle. "Just an accident, I'm quite clumsy sometimes." She throws her hair back to empathize her breezy explanation.

"An accident?" Austin isn't sure whether to laugh at her pathetic attempt or to get angry. He chooses the latter. "Jesus Christ, I know damn well you didn't do that yourself."

"How are you so sure, then?" She responds in an equally annoyed way, in which she represents a stubborn teenager.

"You don't smoke," he states, as it is the most obvious thing in the world. It is, though, to him.

"I might." Her way of arguing doesn't stray from smart-mouthed replies.

"You don't," he replies, his patience slipping away from him.

"You don't know that!" She keeps arguing, refusing to give him any kind of reasonable objection.

"I've spent hours consecutive with you. I haven't seen you touch a single cigarette," he reminds her and immediately sees his sensible points scare her. "You don't show the symptoms of a smoker." His continuous arguments make her defenceless and she knows it. He takes a deep breath before his final hit. "You don't taste like smoke."

"Stop it." Reminding them both of the night they slept together was a low blow, but it worked, which means it was worth it. She's wrapped her hands around herself and doesn't seem to be planning on saying anything anymore. But Austin is long from done.

"Did Keith do this to you?"

This comment makes Allison's head snap back up. "I said, stop it!" Despite her rage, she keeps her voice at a moderate volume, though she seems to spit fire. "What's this obsession with Keith you have? What did he do to you? Why can't you just leave him alone?" She asks irritated. "Leave us alone?"

Austin is taken aback by her sudden defensiveness. Since it's the first time she's talked about an 'us', while she'd assured him that she and Keith could never be an 'us', he's lost for words for a moment. The arguments he was so confident about just a minute ago don't seem to hold the power they used to. "If he's abusing you-" he starts presumptuous.

"He's not!" She hisses, looking around, paranoid someone might've caught wind of their conversation. "He never has."

"Do you swear?" Finding out who did do it to her seems a lot less important all of a sudden. All he wants now is to know she's telling the truth.

"Will you leave it alone if I do?" Austin nods wordlessly and Allison sighs powerlessly. "He didn't do this to me. And that's the truth."

Austin is sure in that moment, for the first time, she's entirely honest. And that's enough, for now.

"The architecture is truly what was promised, isn't it?"

As they left the terrace, they left the conversation behind them as well. Having found what seemed to be the heart of the town, they choose a wall to sit down on. A church, small yet prominent, stands before them which attracts groups of tourists every few minutes. A few other tourists and locals sit among them, each minding their own business. The background of their view consists of a line of terraced houses in bright tones.

Austin quickly notices Allison hadn't been looking at the same things in their scenery as he had, as she raises her eyes to the buildings he's aiming at in an uninterested sense. "I don't care for buildings. They're so," she starts, shrugging as she picks appropriate adjectives out of thin air, "permanent, certain, so..." She runs out of inspiration, though she doesn't seem satisfied as she snaps her fingers a few times to help her search. It takes a few seconds before Austin comprehends her point.

"Predictable."

She looks up, surprised. "Exactly, it's dull." Sighing, she takes another look at the houses, like she's trying to see what others see. "They always say architecture is full of life," she shrugs. "It's just a pile of bricks."

Austin laughs. "I know a ton of people who would tear you apart if you'd say that to their face."

She smiles in response. " I know you agree with me." When Austin fails to object, she knows she's right. He'd never been particularly interested in architecture. "People, those are the ones worth admiring." She turns back to her original preferred sight, the ever moving crowd of people. "You, out of all people, should be interested in the study of human behaviour."

Austin studies the group too. "They're," he says, pausing, as he finds his main example sitting next to him, "complicated." Allison doesn't seem to notice Austin had used the ambiguous word to describe her while studying her closely.

"Exactly," she agrees, her eyes moving from face to face, "that's what's exciting about them." Her lips form a smile as her stare comes to a stop at two teenage girls sitting together. Austin follows her gaze. The short haired girl is laughing widely as she stares ahead, the curly haired girl looking at her with a closed-mouthed smile. Allison's eyes show some kind of omniscience like she knows what will happen just with one look. "No matter how well you think you know someone, you can never be sure what that person really thinks. Or what their next move is."

The smile falls from the girl's lips, the other still not looking at her, as she wraps a curl around her finger, a doubtful look on her face. Then, without warning, she leans forward. Using one hand to brush a short lock behind her ear, she captures her friend's lips. Guilt is written all over her face once she leans back and sees the girl's shock. When the short-haired girl grabs her hand, she smiles once again and kisses her again. Allison smiles.

"Or that what they say is the truth," she concludes. Austin stares, not at the girls, but at Allison, who still fails to meet his gaze.

"Who are you?" He ponders out loud. He feels numb and clueless, and he finds it is the only thing he manages to say, still.

Allison doesn't hesitate to respond. "That's not the question you need to ask yourself." She stays silent, feeling his gaze burn through her. "I can see it, you know."

"What?" Austin checks.

"That look you're giving me. It's how my brother looks at his fiancé." Austin blushes, averting his eyes. Allison continues, "You're trying to fit me into your long-term perspective." As she's proven she can, she looks right through him. Her face stays neutral, making Austin unable to read her reaction. Finally, she smiles, but not a happy smile. More like a hopeless smile, as if the desperation is humorous. "I'm just a passer-by, hotshot."

Allison disproves her statement by leaning her head on Austin's shoulder. Austin, in turn, stays silent, afraid of breaking the spell by a wrong movement or response. Allison's body resembles one of a rag doll, any form of life far to be found, as she releases a weak sigh.

"There's an expiration date written all over this," she whispers through almost-closed lips. "The date is today."

I've been counting the minutes until show time. Only a few more hours.

I can't wait to see the looks on their stupid faces.

The company will surely get shut down. No one survives this kind of publicity.

The ship won't say without me.

That's for sure.

Hope you enjoyed that! We're inching towards the reveal, hope you're ready for it.

chapter 6

Great chapter! Now. I think the shadow is someone else. From this chapter i think ot could be. Phil. There is something fishy about him. I feellime Ally is invome without knoeing since she is oblivious about ehst happenning.. - Thank you! Interesting thought! Thank you so much for sharing. Hope you'll stay to see the reveal soon :)

L awesome 18 chapter 6

Hmmmmm amazing job, I think Keith is abusing Ally and I know this is stupid but I somehow feel that the person at the end is Agent Walter. Love the story. - Thanks for your thoughts! I like the way you're thinking, girl. That's a refreshing suspicion you've got there :)