So I got my new computer! I promise now: absolutely NO MORE delays in chapters! We're at the sinking now, so I can't allow you to be kept in suspense. ;)

There was a few mistakes in the last chapter. :O No one noticed them, but they've been fixed, so it's okay! :D

oxkatizzlexo: No need to feel lame, haha. I have a lot of reviewers that just rant on, and that's okay. It's amusing. :) I'm glad you like it, but I'm not really worth "beautiful" or "speechless". I'm just an idea machine that has grammar OCD. :D I hope you like this chapter!

Jessah82: Lol, I'm glad you can picture him saying all of that! I want to keep him in character, but I'm pretty sure I strayed a bit, for romantic scene purposes. :P And the lack of good Lowe fics is a serious problem. I'm hoping I can be of help with that. I have like three chapters written, but I'm going a bit slower than usual because I'm writing about four different things rights now. :( But I'll get it up as soon as I possibly can!

The song for this is "6 Months" by Hey Monday. The only way I can describe the song is pretty, haha.

On to the sinking, my darlings.

You Love Me, I Love You Harder

I was once again in Tommy's bed, wearing a large shirt of his in place of my nightclothes. I was starting to regret not packing some things from my room, but at the same time I wanted everything from that life to be kept far away from me.

All of his roommates were snoring, sound asleep in their beds. His hand was tangled in my hair, and I was fiddling idly with one of the buttons on the shirt.

"Tommy?" I asked quietly, trying not to wake his roommates. He grunted sleepily in reply. "Have you ever been in love before now?"

He shifted a little closer to me, and said, "I think I might have loved a girl once, but compared ta ya it's like we might as well have been strangers."

I smiled in the darkness, feeling slightly triumphant. I had stolen his heart like no other girl had been able to. I snuggled closer to him.

I realized something was off, but couldn't quite place my finger on it. Tommy's breathing had deepened and he was in a light sleep, so I didn't want to wake him. The more I focused on it, it was like something was missing…what was it?

It clicked in place, and I realized the constant hum of the engines almost directly beneath us had stopped. In my previous room it had been inaudible, but this close to the bottom of the ship it was quite noticeable most of the time. Did that mean we'd stopped?

I was about to rouse Tommy to ask him if it was bad when the boat shuddered violently, followed by the shrieking sound of ripping metal. It felt like an earthquake was ripping through the boat.

Tommy sat bolt upright, and I clutched to his arm. It stopped just as suddenly as it had started, but I was rather shaken. All of Tommy's roommates were awake now, and Isaac was letting out a string of curses that no man in the first class would have ever uttered around a female. The other two were speaking in fluent Arabic to one another.

"Tommy, what was it?" I gasped.

"I don't know," he said. He rolled over me, and opened the door to the room. He peered out for a second, and then shut it.

"D'ya know what it was?" he asked Isaac.

"It sounded like we hit something," Isaac said. He leapt off the top bunk, and looked out the window, shifting his head to see all sides. "Don't see anything."

Tommy sat back down on the side of the bed next to me, but he still seemed uneasy. Suddenly he sat up, alert.

"SHUT UP!" he commanded. His two other roommates couldn't speak English, but it was clear what the intention was. I could hear it too…rippling water?

"Fuck!" Isaac gasped at the same time that I squealed. Water was pouring in from under the door.

Tommy grabbed my dress off the floor just before the water touched it, and gave it to me. He was up in a second, gathering his things. Isaac and the Arabic men did the same. The men weren't paying attention to me (I probably wouldn't have cared much if they did at that point), and I pulled Tommy's shirt off and yanked my dress over my head. I laced it up with shaking fingers, my feet ice cold in the water that had already made a shallow puddle on the floor. I thanked god that I'd worn my shortest pair of heels.

"Here," Tommy said, he held out his black coat for me, and I took it, shoving my arms in quickly. His scent wafted over me like a wave. He had shoved a pair of pants and shoes on, and was holding a shirt ready to wear. "Do ya want ta get anything from your room?"

I shook my head, so he grabbed my hand and pulled me into the panicked corridor.

"The deck is that way!" I yelled, gesturing behind us.

"We're gettin' Fabrizio and Jack," he replied.

"Jack will be with Rose." He just nodded. He had a determined look on his face, and it scared me more than the water covering the floor did. He was practically choking the life out of my hand, and we were jogging down the corridors.

When we turned down the one that held Jack and Fabrizio's room, Fabrizio happened to step outside, looking sleep disheveled and confused.

"Come on; let's get the hell outta here!" Tommy yelled to him. Fabrizio turned back into the room, shoving aside his large roommates. "Come on; hurry up!"

I recognized one of Fabrizio's roommates as the Swedish man who'd arm-wrestled Tommy at the party, and smirked at me in a way I didn't like. He didn't even glance at me now, just yelled in a harsh voice at his friend as they collected their things.

Tommy kept glancing back down the corridor at where the water was flowing from, looking extremely nervous. He looked at me, and I figured my face must have unnerved him because he yelled, "Dammit, Fabrizio, we don't have a lot o' time!"

Fabrizio emerged a second later, fully dressed and holding a large backpack. Tommy nodded to him, and took off in the direction where there was not yet water. We ended up leading a crowd of people. We turned a corner, and saw a bunch of rats running down it. Tommy followed it quickly, the water sloshing at our heels. He let go of my hand to wrench his shirt over his head.

"Tommy, do you know where we're going?" I asked timidly.

He replied, adjusting his shirts, "If this is the direction the rats are goin', that's good enough for me." I just nodded, and he reclaimed my hand.

We followed the rats for as long as possible, but Tommy became impatient at their speed, and tore off past them, dragging me and Fabrizio following. We took a lot of turns, always going back if we saw water coming towards us.

He kept looking back at me, as if he needed to be reassured that I was there. Every time he did, he would speed up considerably.

"Where is Jack?" Fabrizio asked worriedly.

"He's probably with Rose," I reassured him.

"Do you think he will be able to get out?" he persisted.

"Rose is very persuasive, and if they're together, I know they will," I told him, throwing a smile over my shoulder.

"And if he's with her, he's in first class, so he'll be one of the first out," Tommy added bitterly.

For a second I felt guilty that I had once been one of the privileged, but that was forgotten when we heard the buzz of many voices up ahead.

"Up here!" Tommy said hastily. We broke into a run, following the sound that was getting louder and louder. The closer we got, the more people were around: crying, screaming, and talking in any language you could think of. They all had one thing in common: they looked scared and confused. The hallways were crowded, making it hard to get through. The people all stood in one place, like they were waiting in line. Tommy stopped, and surveyed our surroundings.

"There's a way to get up to the deck this way!" he finally said. He glanced at me, and our eyes locked. His eyes searched my face, and he suddenly dropped his bag. He got on his knees next to it, and started to dig through the contents.

"What are you doing, Tommy?" Fabrizio asked worriedly. Tommy didn't respond, but turned his back on us and started to do something with whatever he'd retrieved from his bag. Suddenly he stood, and handed me a small box.

"Keep that with you, no matter what," he growled. I nodded, and dropped it into the pocket of his jacket. He nudged his bag with his foot, kicking it to the wall.

"This'll just get in the way." Fabrizio threw his stuff down too, and then we all hurried along, following Tommy's lead.

We came to the most crowded hallway yet, and saw all the way down two stewards were handing out lifebelts. We ran down the hall, and Tommy grabbed two from the stewards, jamming one into my hands.

"Put it on," he commanded. I did so, and was tying it when we came up on the stairs. They were packed with no room to move, and they gates at the top were locked. I could hear another steward at the top demanding calm from the people as they hurled insults at him, and rattled the gates.

"What've they got the bloody gates closed for?" Tommy growled fiercely.

"They'll let the first class people out first," I told him.

"Fabrizio, go see if you can find another way," Tommy said, and Fabrizio took off running. He turned to me, and grabbed my shoulders, staring dead in my eyes. "Listen to me right now, Evie. I am goin' ta get ya outta here alive, alright? Even if I can't get meself out. If there are any boats up there, you're to get in it even if there's no room for me, no matter what! Do ya understand?"

I shook my head vehemently. "That's not going to happen! Don't talk like that!"

He sighed. "Do ya trust me, love?"

I nodded without hesitation. "I trust you."

He held both sides of my face, and we were only centimeters apart. "I love ya."

"I love you back," I promised. He kissed me hard on the lips for several long seconds, and then let go. He grabbed my hand instead, and pushed his way to the top of the stairs with me in tow.

"Open the damn gates," he demanded. The already harassed steward rolled his eyes.

"Sir, as I have been telling these people, it is not yet time for you to go to the boats. We will open the gates when the officers say to," he said with the tone of someone who'd had to say this many times to small children.

"You're goin' ta keep us locked up like goddamned prisoners while the ship sinks?" Tommy yelled, shaking the gates slightly.

"Sir, none of your actions will get you up any sooner," the steward said calmly.

Tommy looked murderous. I touched his arm, but he didn't calm any. He simply looked even angrier with the reminder that this was preventing him from getting me out safe, as he'd promised. I pushed past him, and stood with my old arrogant posture at the forefront of the gate.

"Excuse me, sir," I said, using my commanding accent, "if you do not allow me through this very instant, you will regret your decision immensely."

"And why is that?" he asked skeptically.

"I am Evelyn Ismay, daughter of the director of the White Star Line. I believe your job may be in jeopardy if it were known that you prevented me from escaping this ship."

The guy laughed uproariously, sounding insane. "Why would an Ismay be down with the steerage passengers?"

"A true lady can respect her inferiors," I stated, "and knows how to associate with them. Open this gate at once!"

"I don't think so, 'Miss Ismay'," he said disbelievingly.

I sneered, and spit on his shoes. He made a disgusted noise, but I had already returned to Tommy's side. He was actually grinning.

"Good try, but the spittin' was a little much," he commended.

"I would have told him to fetch my father, but he would have just told them to shoot me and get it over with quicker." He didn't reply, just pulled me into his body and kissed my head.

As time went by, the passengers became more and more frantic. The yelling became louder, and the shoving rougher. I continued to glance periodically at the bottom of the steps in case Fabrizio came back with an exit plan and signaled us down. He never did, and I was getting more and more anxious. Tommy kept repeating his words, but I wasn't sure if he was reassuring me or himself.

"Get ya out…not gonna die…we're goin' ta make it…"

He had one arm wrapped through the gate, and the other was at his side, his hand clasped in mine. He looked like he'd love to throw a couple of punches at this point.

"Ya can't keep us locked in here like animals!" he finally exploded, yelling at the steward. "The ship's bloody sinkin'!"

The steward glanced at Tommy, and then yelled, "Bring forward the women!" He reached to a man behind him for a key.

"Go!" Tommy demanded, nudging me forward so I would be at the front. My eyes widened, and I clung to his lifebelt instead while the steward fumbled with the keys.

"Tommy, they said only women!" I squealed. "I'm not going without you!"

The steward was sticking the key in the lock. "I told ya that I'm goin' ta make sure that you're out, no matter what!"

"I'm not getting on a damn boat unless I'm sure that you aren't locked in down here!" I said, planting my feet firmly.

"Women only!" the steward said as the gate opened. "No men!"

One woman ran through, and then all hell broke loose. The men weren't listening very well, and were shoving themselves to the front to run out. I was shoved hard into Tommy's chest, and a man tumbled past me down the stairs after getting hit in the head by a steward wielding an axe. People were screaming, and I was being squished as people tried to run through the open gates. The stewards pushed and shoved the men back in, failing to contain them all.

The steward who had been speaking before pulled out a small gun, cocked it awkwardly and held it out.

"GET BACK!" he screamed, pointing it at the front of the gates."LOCK THE GATES! GET BACK FROM THOSE GATES! DON'T TOUCH THE GATES!" They finally managed to pull them shut, but this just made the people more agitated than ever. Tommy finally managed to right me, and he turned furiously to the man holding the gun.

"FOR GOD'S SAKE MAN, THERE ARE WOMEN AND CHILDREN DOWN HERE!" he thundered. "LET US OUT SO WE CAN HAVE A CHANCE!"

The man just looked dumbstruck, but made no move to reopen the gates. Tommy backed away suddenly, pointing threateningly at the man as he did so. I followed, shoving my way through the people.

"We're goin' ta go find Fabrizio!" Tommy yelled over his shoulder.

Once we were at the bottom, Tommy yelled, "Jack!"

"Tommy!"

I came up on Tommy's side, and saw Jack Dawson standing there. He was soaking wet from head to toe, but seemed unscathed otherwise. Next to him, equally as wet and scared looking was Rose.

"Rose!" I exclaimed, leaping forward to hug her. I heard Fabrizio's Italian accent, and assumed he was back, but I was too focused on Rose.

"Evelyn!" she gasped, hugging me back. "Are you alright?" Her eyes darted to Tommy.

"I'm fine," I assured her. "Are you?" She nodded.

We didn't have time to say much more because Jack, Tommy, and Fabrizio had decided we were going to try a different direction.

"Come on!" Jack said, turning back down the hallway. Tommy grabbed my hand, and we ran behind Jack and Rose with Fabrizio taking up the rear. I lost count of the twists and turns, but we finally arrived at a long, less crowded hallway. Jack stopped suddenly near an opening to a separate hallway.

"Come on!" Tommy said hurriedly, squeezing my hand.

"No, come on, let's go this way!" he decided. No one complained, and we just ran after him.

I could feel desperation and panic bubbling up, but attempted to push it down. The ship groaned slightly, and I felt nauseous. If I got out of this, I was never getting on a boat ever again. I had no reason to go overseas. I would stay in America forever.

We passed an angsty Arabic family, flipping through a dictionary to attempt to read the signs on the walls. I felt bad, but didn't have the time or the knowledge to communicate to them what it meant. My main priority was the group I was with, Tommy most specifically. There was no life for me anywhere without him.

We took two quick rights, and ran up a flight of stairs. I nearly cried when I realized that it ended in another locked gate. This one had less people in front of it, making it quieter and easier for Jack to shove his way to the front, grasping the gates in both hands.

"Go back to the main stairwell, and it will all be sorted out there!" the steward was saying. We'd just come from the main stairwell, and there was definitely nothing be sorted in any way down there.

"Open the gate," Jack said evenly.

"Go back down the main stairwell," he repeated.

"Open the gate right now!" Jack said, voice getting steadily louder and irritated, and pointing at the man through the opening in the gate.

"Go back down the main stairwell like I told you!" the little man said in his annoying voice.

Jack turned away with a discouraged look. He caught sight of Rose, and some sort of fire lit up his eyes. He was enraged, something I'd never seen from the laidback artist.

He turned around and shook the gates wildly like a caged gorilla. "Goddammit, son of a bitch!" he shouted

"Stop that!" the steward yelled. Jack just kicked the gates once again for good measure. He pushed back through the gate, and stared around the small landing off the stairs. There was a bench nailed to the floor on the right side. He ran to it, and grabbed it on one side.

"Fabri, Tommy, give me a hand here!" he yelled. They both ran to him, grabbing the bench and wrenching it up.

Rose and I both glanced at each other, having a silent conversation in the course of a second. We both knew what they were going to do, and we understood what we had to do.

"Move aside!" we both yelled at the same time, turning to push the people away from the gates.

"Go, move!" I yelled, pushing them all. "Move out of the way! Do you want to get killed by a bench? No? Then get out of the way!"

Finally they were all out of the way, leaving a clear path for Tommy, Jack, and Fabrizio to charge the gates. They'd ripped the bench clear off the floor, leaving two large holes in the ground. All of the guards at the gate had run away except for the man with the annoying voice.

"Put that down, put that down!" he repeated, his hands in the air as he gestured at them to stop.

"One, two," Jack counted down.

"Stop that!" the steward commanded.

"Three!" Jack roared. The three of them ran, ramming the gates with the force of a full grown rhino. The gates clanged and their hinges bent, but they didn't come away from the wall.

"Again!" Jack yelled. They rammed it again, and the bench went straight through the gates, landing on top of them in the doorway.

"Let's go, Rose!" Jack said, grabbing her and pulling her through.

Tommy picked me up bridal style, and set me down on the other side of the bench. He took my hand, and we started to follow the others.

"You can't go that way!" the steward was repeating, over and over. "You can't go that-"

He never got to finish his sentence. With speed I didn't know he possessed, Tommy had raised his fist and knocked the man out cold with one punch. It crossed my mind how incredibly arousing I would have found it if it weren't for the situation.

We sprinted up a long, straight hallway that was completely empty. There was a door at the end where I could see the night sky shining through the small window at the top. I couldn't believe we'd made it to the deck! Relief swept through me, and I thought me may have a chance yet. We approached the door swiftly, and the closer we got the louder the screams of the people outside became.

We burst out of the door, running straight to the railing on the side of the deck.

"The boats are all gone!" Rose yelled, dismayed.

The hope that we might all be able to get out safe died as quick as it had come.

So...there's part one of the sinking. How'd I do? :3

Well, you can let me know in one of the five reviews I'm asking for. ;) Please and thank you.

Love to everyone. (: