Heyy, I'm back with the next chapter. My holiday was soooooooooo good. The cruise felt like a dream. I'm so so so sorry about not updating. This chapter is dedicated to all those people who favourited and followed The Real Me.

Mezosoup: New York was freezing. I didn't really enjoy it but that was because of the cold. Even my biggest jacket wasn't enough, I needed to buy a snow jacket type thing. Makes me appreciate how mild Australia winters are.

For some people, this was the day they disembarked the ship after they're no doubt perfect cruise vacation. For others, it was the half-way point. The ship would leave for the Eastern Caribbean cruise at 5pm today. I was a lucky one. I watched from the top deck people disembarking with sober faces. I smirked.

Leaning over a little more, I watched a girl about fifteen gaze back at the ship with near adoration and worship in her dark brown eyes. Studying her harder, I realized that her eyes held the utmost pain. Her parents behind her were bickering over something and I assumed they didn't have a good marriage. My heart ached for her. Turning around, the girl said something to her and they parents stopped bickering, instead gazing at the girl. The girl fidgeted nervously under their gaze until a man I assumed to be her father sighed and walked the girl back onto the ship with one bag in tow with them, leaving the mother alone.

"Looking at something?" a voice whispered in my ear. I jumped in surprise and turned around to Jace standing and smirking.

"Jace… what are you doing?!" I was always on guard and I hated when someone surprised me.

"Asking you a question." Something was different, something was off. This wasn't the way Jace usually talked and there was a hardness in his eyes that I had never seen ever. Not when I was Clary, not when I was Katerina.

"A little girl had caught my attention." I answered, after an eternity of silence. Jace walked to the railing and peered down at the little girl who was now hugging her parents with elation in her eyes, all traces of pain gone.

"That one." Jace pointed at the girl. I nodded still staring at the girl who was being escorted back to the ship by a woman in a uniform. "That girl, she adores ships. I met her parents, they were considering sending her alone on the next cruise because of her good grades."

"Oh okay." I still couldn't shake off the feeling that Jace wasn't telling me something. I watched his back as he turned away from me and walked away without so much as a glance behind him. I also couldn't shake the most uncomfortable feeling that there was more to this girl's story. I knew there was and I was going to find out.

- The Real Me-

No matter how hard I looked all throughout the day, I didn't find that little girl. My luck changed at dinner, when I saw her sitting alone at a table, looking over the menu. I walked straight in, ignoring the line and sat her table, across from her. She was quite pretty, with shoulder length, straight dark brown hair. She looked up in surprise, and smiled shyly.

"Hi." I started softly.

She beamed and said "Hi! How are you?"

"I'm good, and you?"

"Good."

"Where are your parents?" I wanted to know her answer, even though it was obvious that she was here all alone.

"Oh, I'm alone. My parents were on the previous cruise." She said, smiling sweetly.

"Is it alright if I sit here, I'm all alone too." Aydin wanted to spend tonight with Aimee and I didn't want to intrude, even if I was her mother.

"Sure! What's your name?" she seemed quite happy that she had someone to talk to.

"My name's Katerina. What's yours?"

"Sophia."

"That's a pretty name." I said sincerely. I meant it. I actually really liked the name Sophia.

"Thanks!" We trailed off into silence, unsure of what to say until the waiter came and asked for our order. We both ordered and the waiter left.

"So are you here with anyone?"

"Me? I'm here with my aunt, uncle and a friend."

"That's cool. I love this ship." She sighed and for the second time, I saw the dreamy look cross her eyes. She quickly snapped out of it though.

"So… were you on the previous cruise?" I asked. I was nearly out of questions to ask, but I still wanted to learn what her story was. She looked the kind of girl who would hold her tears in for an unimaginable length of time and let them flow at night when no on as watching her.

"Yeah, funny I didn't see you."

"Same, and here I thought I had seen everyone on board." She laughed as the waiter served our food. We ate in silence and I was thankful as I had the time to plan. One of the questions that my mind asked me was "Why did I want to know so much about this one girl?" Although I didn't know why, some part of me screamed that I was the gown up version of her. I so badly did not want to believe that part of me.

After she and I had finished eating, Sophia stood up and said "If you ever want to visit, Deck 14 Room 418."

"Hey! You have gotten the room across from mine." I had upgraded my stateroom and Jace's for this second part of the cruise. I didn't upgrade Aunt Natalie's and Uncle George's cabin because they had insisted that they were fine and it would be a hassle to move their enormous suitcases out of the room. Not that I had blamed them, I had over packed a lot as well. "Room 417."

- The Real Me-

That night I ended up in my room, on Skype with Alexandra who insisted that she didn't want to come on this vacation with us. I had paid over three hundred dollars to ensure I had WiFi all around the ship at any time.

"Sis! Does it all feel like a big dream?" Alex asked.

"Well yes and no." I laughed at her confused expression. "Yeah it feels like a dream, eating the best foods twenty four seven but at the same time, I can feel everything, likes it real, you know?" Alex nodded in understanding but I had a feeling that she didn't get what I was saying. She was never the one to admit confusion. Suddenly a timid knock came.

"Alex. Gotta go, okay? Talk to you later." I ended the call before she could argue with me. I hastily ran to the door and threw it open.

Sophia stood there, only in a skimpy night dress with dry tear tracks running down her cheeks.

"Hey." She croaked. "Can I stay here tonight? Please? I had a nightmare." In that moment she looked so small, helpless and vulnerable.

"Sure." I answered, while ushering her inside. "I can call the attendant to make the sofa bed. I will sleep there, you can take the bed."

"No, I'll take the sofa bed. I really don't want to be a nuisance."

I let her and called my stateroom attendant who was here within minutes to make the bed. After that Sophia crawled on it and fell asleep within seconds of her head hitting the pillow.

Later that night, I woke up to the sound of someone sobbing softly into the pillow. I flipped over as quietly as I could without making a sound to see what was happening, but as soon as I did, the sheets made a rustling sound and Sophia stopped and didn't cry for the rest of the night.

I vowed then that I would comfort this girl ad I would try and learn her story as best I could.

An extra-long chapter for an extra-long wait. For the people who favourited and followed my story. I Iove you guys. Anyways I would recommend anyone to go on that cruise, you'll love it. It's on the Allure of the Seas, the world's largest cruise ship EVER!