Sorry for the wait, this story just keeps failing to motivate me. I'm still going to try and finish it though.

Chapter four

"Where are you going?"

"No where."

"Who are you going with?"

"No one."

"When are you going to be back?"

"I don't know."

"Have you forgotten your little punishment?"

"Yes," Lily snapped shortly before disappearing through her stateroom door and slamming it behind her into her mothers face. And of course Lily did quite plainly remember her punishment her dear mother had given her just the day before, but this was one of those times she felt like if she ignored it, it would just go away. She could endure the cold shoulder from her mother for a few days. Why only yesterday it was what she was hoping for.

"Hey watch where you're going, I - hey, oh sorry Lily, didn't realize it was you. Where are you going in such a hurry?"

Lily looked at Rick and quickly muttered an polite apology for running into him.

"Oh it's alright, I'm sure it wasn't your fault," Rick said, dismissing her clumsiness. "But where are you going?"

"No where," Lily said, wondering how many people where going to ask her this within the next hour.

"Oh, well I was just heading over to your stateroom to ask if you'd like to walk on the boat deck with me. Enjoy the fresh air." Rick then held out his elbow for Lily to take. "If you're not going anywhere..."

Lily didn't really want to go to the decks with him, but she felt it would be rather rude if she just said no and pushed past him which is what she was dearly tempted to do.

"Just a walk on the decks then?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow.

Rick didn't respond right away, but gave a little smirk and then finally answered. "Just a walk on the decks."

"That had better be it, because if you try anything - "

"Just a walk, Lily," Rick said. "If we're to be spending more time together you should start trusting me."

Lily glared at him suspiciously. "What do you mean we'll be spending more time together? I'm marrying Linus, not you. You're too late."

"I know that Lily, believe me, I know that," Rick sighed. "I'm not going to try anything funny."

To give her some more thinking time, Lily reached inside her purse and extracted the old pocket watch from within. She looked back up at Rick holding the watch up by the silver chain. "I found this on the decks yesterday and was wondering if it was yours."

Rick took it out of her hands and observed it carefully. "No, it's not mine. Piece of junk."

"Oh well, do you know where the lost and found is on the ship?"

Rick shrugged. "Just toss it into the ocean. Whoever lost that trash probably won't miss it."

"It tells the time," Lily said, slipping the watch back into her bag. "That's all you really need it for."

Rick laughed. "Ah Lily, it's the show that people come to see, not the use."

"What?"

"Come on Lily, while we're young. It feels stuffy in here."

"I'd love to," Lily said, trying to smile. "But I have to find the lost and found first."

Rick threw up his hands in defeat. "Alright, fine. If you want to speak with me, then you know where I'll be."

"Yeah, right..." Lily nodded and inched away from him slowly and when he was completely out of sight, she let out a deep breath. She looked back inside her purse. Truth be told she didn't really feel like looking for a lost and found just at that moment. She didn't really feel like doing anything. She just wanted to slip away from her family and Rick. But where could she go where they couldn't follow? No where...

Wait a minute...

Lily looked over her shoulders quickly and then darted out of sight of the dining room and towards the staircase. Where could she go where her family couldn't follow... The answer was too obvious, but there was one. Lily was just surprised it took her longer than this too figure out what it was.

Third class, or even second class. Or anywhere that wasn't third class was the answer. Lily was willing to bet everything she owned that her mother wouldn't dare go that far into the ship.

It was too perfect. Lily started walking faster as she headed down towards the staircases, praying she wouldn't run into anyone familiar on the way.

"Hi Lily! Where are you going!" Marcy squealed and Lily flinched. Darn, so close.

"No where really..." Lily muttered. "I just - "

"Oh Lily, thank God I found you!" Anika sighed in relief, appearing in the hallway. "Look I don't care what mother says, I can't babysit this darn thing anymore. It's your turn."

Lily would rather have gone up to the decks with Rick.

"Why does she even need a babysitter?" Lily asked. "She's old enough to take care of herself. Nothing's going to happen to her on this ship."

Anika shrugged. "Tell mother that. And - wait - aren't you supposed to be in the stateroom?"

"Mother's looking for you," Marcy declared. "She asked me if I knew where you'd got to."

"And what did you tell her?"

"Told her I didn't know," Marcy replied. "Because I didn't know."

"Ok, well listen I've got to go now," Lily said hurriedly, pushing past her sisters.

She found the stairs in a matter of minutes and did not stop to hesitate as the climbed down them, holding up her light green dress so she wouldn't trip over the fabric.

She didn't stop until there were no more stairs and she let out a breath of relief as she observed her surroundings.

There wasn't really much to see. Only hallways completely devoid of carpet. It was a real labyrinth. Lily pulled out one particularity painful hair clip out of her hair and started to walk down one of the empty hallways. She wondered whether or not she would be able to find her way back to first class, but she really didn't care one way or another.

Though after awhile she was starting to feel a little claustrophobic. There was just no way out of these hallways. Down one corridor, turn left, down another, turn right, another hallway.

"Hello?" Lily called out. No one answered so she continued to walk through the maze, hoping she would come across someone soon. Or a staircase, no matter what Lily, go up.

Eventually Lily did manage to find one or two staircases leading up, but she was still pretty sure she was in third class because the few people she did stumble upon below the decks did not speak English and she knew many immigrants where traveling to america third class.

Naturally their inability to speak English made them be of absolutely no help to Lily so she continued on her way. She read the little signs posted here and there on the white walls, but found them just as confusing.

As she moved closer to the center of the ship and started to run into more and more people, she became uncomfortably aware that the passengers where staring at her wide eyed, clearly shocked. Maybe this was why her mother refused to mingle with them... The awkward stares... how exactly where you supposed to respond to them?

Lily decided that smiling at them would be one way, though her smiles did tend to come out a little forced and awkward. She was starting to wish she was back down in one of the deserted hallways. It would have been fine if she had brought a book or maybe even a sheet of paper and pen for writing. She could do that tomorrow at any rate, if she could find her way out of here today...

"Ouch!"

"Hey watch it!"

"S- sorry, I - "

"Oh, no I'm sorry I didn't realize - "

"No, it's quite alright, really..."

"But I really do want to apologize - "

"It's nothing, my fault..."

"Nonsense, I - "

"Alright shush!" Lily snapped, pressing her fingers against the mans lips, and glaring at him in an irritated fashion. "I do not care how sorry you are about my clumsiness so I do not wish for you to keep reminding me of it."

"Yes, sorry - " he faltered, trying to read the strange girls face, but found he couldn't.

"Now - er - " Lily cleared her throat and adjusted her hat slighting, trying to regain her composure. She was a first class girl after all and so scaring a timid third class passenger was not something she should execute. "Listen sorry to bother you, but - "

"No bother, none at all!" the man assured quickly. Lily noticed his hands shaking a bit and he nervously ran one through his oily brown hair.

"Are - are you alright?"

"I'm fine, fine," he told her as earnestly as he could.

Lily studied the nervous man for a moment under the brim of her hat. He was most likely from London judging by his accent. His eyes were a very dark brown, so dark even, that she couldn't tell where the iris met the pupil and gave up trying soon after she started examining it. He was a tall and thin man and apart from his jittery composure he seemed like a very nice man.

"S - sorry, but - are - are you lost?"

"Yes!" Lily said gratefully and a little louder then she meant. "I - I mean, well, yes. Uh - you wouldn't happen to know how to get up to the decks would you?"

He smiled slightly, but it wasn't all too happy. "No," he apologized. "No, I'm afraid I haven't really been up there much. I'm sorry, I really do want to help... Look, I'll lead you around as far as I can remember and then we'll just hope for the best."

"Yes alright," Lily smiled and without really thinking, just doing it purely out of impulse, she linked her arm with his and waited for him to lead the way. He didn't budge, but looked at Lily's arm oddly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lily said quickly, pulling her arm away, feeling her cheeks starting to burn. "I didn't really - It's just what I'm used to is all."

"No, no, it's quite alright. Come on this way," the man said pointing up a flight of stairs.

"Oh, and if I may ask your name?" Lily inquired.

"Oh, it's George. Sorry, didn't I mention that? George."

"I'm Lily," Lily told him and they made their way into another corridor.

"Nice to meet you Lily."

xxx

"It - it sure is bright up here," George observed, squinting his eyes and putting a hand over them to shield them from the sun.

"I like the sun," Lily said, her hat protecting her own eyes from the sun, making squinting unnecessary.

Despite what George had told her, they both had no trouble finding their way to the fresh air. The two of them had spent the time talking about England and the journey away. It turned out George was traveling there to meet up with his sister who had come over the Atlantic a few weeks ago. He admitted to her that he wasn't well off and had spent all his life as a farm boy on the moors.

Lily hadn't said very much about herself, she had been dreading the whole time that he'd ask her a question or two, but George didn't talk until someone addressed him or just to make a passing comment on their surroundings which made Lily like him more.

"And it's a bit cold..."

Lily laughed. "Then step out of the shadows and move into the sun." Still smiling, she reached out, took his hand, and managed to drag him out into the shining white light. "Is this your first time on a ship?"

George nodded, still squinting, and turned his away from the sun and the railing, choosing instead to gaze up at the first class decks above.

"Hey, that's strange..." he muttered.

"What?" Lily asked, her eyes watching the waves.

"I'm sorry, not strange exactly, but it's just James is up, wandering the first class decks on his hands and knees observing the floor carefully..."

"What?" Lily spun around and followed George's eyes until her's too, fell upon a familiar person. "James?"

"We share a cabin," George told her. "It looks like he's looking for something."

"Not for long," Lily said pointing. "Some officers are coming."

And the two of them watched as two men in uniform took hold of James's arms and heaved him up from the ground. They then pushed him towards the stairs leading back down to the third class decks all the while yelling at him to get back where he belonged.

James looked disgruntled and rubbed his arms where the officers had grabbed hold of them. He looked up, still carrying that angry look on his face, and his expression cleared slightly as his eyes fell upon George and Lily. He walked over to them.

"What were you doing up there?" George asked.

"Nothing," James grumbled turning away from George and towards Lily. "And I never thought I'd see you again."

Lily shrugged. "I could say the same thing. But I would like to warn you not to go back up there again. Those people can get quite nasty... And what were you looking for?"

"Nothing..."

Lily frowned.

"So tell me how you came to meet Anya, George," James said, hastily changing the subject.

"Anya?" Now it was George's turn to frown. "Who's Anya? This is Lily. Lily - " he turned to face a red faced Lily. "What did you say your last name was again?"

"I - I didn't," Lily said quickly, eyes darting between both men. "I - I mean it's - " and egg could have been fried on her face. "Evans," she said before she could stop herself. "Lily Evans."

James's mouth dropped open.

As always, review! I'd like to hear any suggestions you might have.