Hey, guys! I'm proud of myself for updating in a couple days :) Since it's summer, I will be updating more often! This is a pretty important chapter, so don't forget to review! And keep voting on the poll about whether Lizzie should be with Jack or Brock. I've only gotten a couple votes, so nothing is decided yet, and after this chapter, I can't really update until it is! The poll is at the top of my profile. Thanks guys :)
Lizzie parked her car in the parking lot, turned off the old rock CD that she was listening to, and slammed the door to her car.
She was still angry at Brock for his apathy for Jack and his accusations about her and Jack's relationship. However, she was starting to think that she might have overreacted just the tiniest bit.
This morning, she had been too busy wrestling with emotions to carry out her pancake tradition, and had taken her own car to work to avoid an awkward drive with Brock. It was the first time that she had ever skipped either of those, and she knew that Brock must think that their relationship was in serious jeopardy.
Lizzie knew that she should find Brock and talk things out, but she just didn't want to see his face at the moment. She felt as though the spark that had fueled the fire in their relationship was slowly dwindling. Meanwhile, a certain blue-eyed boy had wormed his way into her heart.
She didn't know if what she felt was brotherly love for Jack...or something else. But either way, he was still from the past and she was still in a mostly happy relationship. Besides, since he was with her great-grandmother, it would be basically incest...right?
She sighed and shook her head. Lizzie had never liked the drama that came with boys. Whenever she encountered a problem, her latest tactic had been to absorb herself with her work.
"Morning, Joshua," she said to her over-eager intern as she walked to her work station.
"Oh, hey, Liz!" Josh called. "So I heard about the contest that People is setting up with Jack-"
Lizzie whirled around. "There isn't going to be a contest involving Jack, Josh," she interrupted testily. "Where did you hear that?"
His face turned pink. "Oh, sorry, I just thought-Brock mentioned..."
"Well, Brock's wrong!" she huffed. "He can do the interview with People, but no contest is necessary. God, as if he would want people to bid on him!" She turned on her heel. "I'll be cleaning and analyzing some Titanic artifacts in the lab if you need me. If anyone asks, even Brock, tell them not to disturb me."
Josh nodded and scurried off to pore over charts of the ocean that tracked tremors and tidal movements with several other employees.
Lizzie entered the lab. Something about the quiet whiteness of it had always calmed her down a little. She was the only one in there at the time, so she sat down and started carefully washing the dirt off of a pair of boots and trying to determine whether they were a man or a woman's.
Lizzie and Brock were part of a team of oceanologists. They explored everything involving the ocean. They had focused mainly on Titanic since her grandmother's story had brought the shipwreck back into the spotlight. Also, the "frozen man" had definitely increased the amount of time that they spent focusing on Titanic.
Soon, though, they would stop working mainly with Titanic and go research some different part of the ocean: tracking unusual earthquakes, taking samples of ocean life, or finding sunken treasure down in the Caribbean (which Brock was most known for). They were oceanologists, and it was their job to explore and learn about every branch of the ocean, and find artifacts along the way.
Lizzie, however, didn't want to move on from Titanic. She had no interest in the rest of the ocean, and knew deep in her heart that once the time came for the team to go to a different area, she would quit her job. Perhaps she would become a Titanic specialist, or write a book based on her grandmother's experiences. People would certainly love to hear it all from her point of view, after all.
The trouble was, she didn't know what that meant for her and Brock. If they no longer worked together, what would they have in common? When would they have time for each other?
After what seemed like an infinite amount of time, something fell off of a desk across the room, jolting Lizzie from her thoughts. She stood up, stretched, ran a hand through her curly blond hair, and decided to go get some lunch.
As she walked towards the lab exit she heard voices coming from just outside the door. She came to a halt when she heard her own name included in the conversation.
"-need to talk to Lizzie for just a second," a throaty man's voice said. It was Jack.
"Sorry, buddy, she said that no one should disturb her," Joshua's voice answered.
Jack scoffed impatiently. "C'mon, just let me in for one minute alright?"
It sounded as though a fight was brewing before Lizzie stepped out of the doorway. "It's alright, Josh, he can talk to me." Josh nodded and walked away.
Lizzie beckoned to Jack and started walking in the direction of the lunch room. "C'mon, I'm starving. Let's get something to eat, alright?" To her surprise, Jack caught hold of her arm.
"Could we, ya know, talk somewhere more...private?" he asked. Lizzie noticed that his cheeks were flushed and his eyes looked nervous but determined.
She raised an eyebrow but nodded, heading back into the lab. "Alright," she said once the door had shut. "What to you need?"
He paced back and forth, then turned to her. "Look, Lizzie, I know this is a little strange. I was in love with your great-grandmother, and I'm from nearly a hundred years ago. But I'm still the exact same age as you in every other way. I didn't age a day physically or mentally from the time Titanic sank to the time that I was unfrozen. And I know you're dating Brock, but I just can't help it, alright?"
Lizzie's heart began to thump. "What are you saying?"
He took a deep breath. "I'm saying that I'm in love with you. You're just like Rose. You're sweet, funny, beautiful, and you both have that fire about you that no one can control. And-and before today, I didn't want to meddle in your relationship because you and Brock seemed so happy together, but after you left this morning...well, he kicked me out and told me to stay away from you, like you were his property. You deserve better, Lizzie."
Her eyes were as wide as saucers. She couldn't believe that he had just said all of that. He was in love with her? How could it ever work out?
And she also couldn't believe that Brock would say such things. She had always known he was a little shallow, but she never thought he was like Cal Hockley. Maybe everything she had known about him was wrong.
Jack took a tentative step towards her. "Look, I know what you're thinking. But Rose and I were from different classes, and we pushed through that. So who's to say that we can't overcome being from different times?" He touched her cheek, light as a feather.
Lizzie's head was reeling. She couldn't think through all of this right now, she just couldn't. "I need some air," she muttered, pushing past him.
Her last glimpse of Jack was him slumped against the wall, exactly as he had when Rose rejected him on Titanic.
