"When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose" -Jack Dawson
"Come on, Jack! Give a second effort for goodness sake!"
I can't see very well with the helmet but asking the coach if I can take it off is definitely not an option. Ugh. Why did I come in the first place?
"Yo! Flower boy! Get moving!"
"It's not that hard. You just have to run, touch the line and run back, jeez..."
Right. So they wouldn't bother me anymore. Why do they keep calling me that? There's nothing wrong with drawing flowers, actually... I think I'm getting pretty good at it, I may even start to draw faces soon... Oh no, i missed the line, again. I can't see very well plus I keep getting distracted, the guilt of sneaking out of the house for the tryouts doesn't let me think straight. Actually, since we started the warmup, I have a feeling that something's not right... it's probably 'cause I'm here and not helping mom make dinner.
"Jack, wake up"
Wow, now that's an Italian accent! There aren't any exchange students in Chippewa Falls that I know of... must be a new kid i guess
"Jack it's not funny, wake up. Do I call the ship's nurse?"
Why would he call a nurse from a- oh right. I'm on a ship.
Suddenly, the sweat and the heat were not only part of his dream anymore. He swore he could even smell the grass, it felt so real. Jack opened his eyes to find a very troubled Fabrizio with a wet towel on his hands.
"Are you okay? You had a nightmare"
The blond one wanted to answer but his lips stayed sealed and felt very heavy. Was he still dreaming?
"You... you started to roll and... then you started... heavy breathing and... I thought you were running out of air so I opened the balcony's door..." Fabrizio sat beside Jack on the latter's bed. He was relieved to see that what happened to his friend was only a nightmare. "Then I felt your temperature and you were warm and... and I thought you couldn't breathe and-"
"Fabrizio" Jack finally managed to say "Thank you for taking care of me"
His best friend was left speechless, Jack figured he wasn't thanked enough... which was uncommon because Fabrizio had the most beautiful heart and was always seeking to help others, he always drew a smile on everyone's faces.
Sleep quickly took over both boys before they were woken up by a loud bang on the door followed by the ship's horn. They were docking safely in Sidney.
Jack was conscious this time. It was the day before Christmas. Everyone was looking to have a wonderful family time this week, even some of their parents had flown to Australia to visit the students. It was only coherent for him to dream about his parents too.
Tommy knocked again and indicated it was time to go get some breakfast.
Since it was really noisy outside, the three of them decided to head towards the ship's inside cafeteria. Jack was limping.
"What? Did Fabrizio top last night?"
Jack laughed "Yesterday was leg day, actually"
"Maybe we should start going to the gym, huh Italian? What do you say?"
Silence.
"We can't let Jackie get fitter than us, can we?"
Still no response. Tommy decided to not push it further, upon arriving to the cafeteria he went to prepare himself a coffee meanwhile Jack and Fabrizio chose a table.
The menu included a variety of Australian dishes so all the students could get familiarized with the country. Jack knew perfectly what Fabrizio always had for breakfast, so he went ahead and brought two plates of bread with butter and jam. Usually, his friend was talkative and bouncy while eating, he knew something was bothering him. Fabrizio was silent for a whole 5 minutes and didn't even look at Jack once.
"You know... the top thing was a joke" Jack said between chewing
"I know..."
"If you don't like that kind of jokes maybe you should tell Tommy to shut..."
"No, it's fine. It's not that... I'm just a little home sick today"
"You were fine before the joke"
"It wasn't the joke, I just remembered something..."
"Hi Jack. Hi love!" Helga's presence lightened up the mood at the table.
"Hey Helga! please sit, sit" The girl greeted her boyfriend with a peck on the lips, Fabrizio quickly stood up to help Helga with her chair. She had opted for a traditional Australian breakfast: eggs, some beans, sausages, and toast.
"I'm FaceTiming my parents at noon; I want you to meet them, Fabrizio"
"Yeah yeah! I would love to!"
Meanwhile, Rose had to pick up some statistics from her work at the RMS and she spotted the group inside the cafeteria on her way out.
"Hey"
"Hey Rose!"
"How are you? Excited for Sidney?"
"We already booked an Airbnb"
"Me too!"
Jack stood up and grabbed her waist, then he pulled her in for a lovely good morning kiss.
"Aren't you gonna ask me what I want for Christmas?" Rose said discreetly
"What do you want for Christmas?"
"I want a date to the formal... with this guy that I like... and after that I want to go to his cabin and taste him" she whispered on his ear.
"You, young lady, are going straight into the naughty list. Pick you up at 7:30 at the elevator?"
"Perfect"
They kissed goodbye and Rose headed back, since she and Cal had already a day planned. Jack already had thought about this, he figured he would be pretty much alone that day so he volunteered to work that afternoon so he could distract himself and take his mind off a couple of things.
The cruise was short-staffed, and they needed more people welcoming the guests for the Christmas dinner on board, so Jack was asked to join the staff rather than go to the kid's club alongside other students who were part of the on-board jobs program as well.
His only job was to greet the guests, offer them a small glass of champagne and a Santa hat. Everything seemed to be going smoothly until he saw his worst nightmare unfold before his eyes.
Rose appeared from a distance in the boarding bridge along with Cal. Why today? Today of all days... The instructor's words echoed in his head: Greet everyone with a smile, we are offering a white star service. He didn't have much of a choice.
"Welcome aboard and have a merry Christmas"
Rose thanked him and was urged to leave, feeling as uncomfortable as Jack; but Cal had other plans...
"Oh Dawson, the plush on this one has a stain. You wouldn't mind changing it would you?"
Jack felt like hot iron down his throat, weighing him down, making him unable to hold the fake smile for much longer
"Of course not... here you go"
"Oh would you look at that? My shoelaces are undone but my hands are busy holding the hat AND the champagne. You wouldn't mind fastening them, would you?"
Actually, I do mind. You're holding the line. Grab your stupid glass and get going.
"Of course not Sir."
Jack kneeled and before he could digest what was going on, Caledon's dirty sole was on his knee.
"Oh sorry, we went to the zoo this morning, I guess I stepped on something"
Jack took a breath, closed his eyes, and tried counting up to ten. It wasn't working. Rose was utterly mortified. Five seconds felt like an eternity but thankfully, he had finished. Great. Now I have to change my pants.
"Speaking of tours... how is your trip going? May we help you with something?" You could jump off the ship when we're moving "Oh I know, let's put this on the 'gram so everyone knows how our star grant holder is doing. Smile!"
Jack froze, not knowing what to do, he was absolutely boiling.
"Cal i think that's enough" Rose interfered
"You can post things with the orphan, but I can't?"
"Don't call me-"
"Cal I wanna go, now"
"Alright sweetpea, have a good day Dawson. Oh, and here" he put a bill on Jack's pocket "so you can buy a new pair of jeans, you always have the same ones in all the pictures"
What pictures?
"I can earn my own money, thank you"
"Don't be silly, consider it as a bonus from your tutor for your A on Colorimetry"
Wait. Does he know who my tutor is? How does he know I got an A? This guy really has eyes everywhere. Of course they are watching my every move. But this means... he must know what's happening between Rose and I. For goodness sake Jack! They're not stupid, everyone knows.
"You didn't have to be so mean, you know" he heard Rose say from a distance.
Another two hours had passed until the rest of the students were dismissed for the Christmas dinner on the ship's main dining room. He had agreed to meet Rose at the elevator, but it was late, and he was positive she would understand why he hadn't showed up to pick her up. He got back to his cabin, changed into an all-black outfit and joined the rest of his classmates on the dining room.
There were Christmas lights everywhere, a big Christmas tree and the band was playing classic carols. Rose was on the third floor of the dining room along her mother and Cal, they were talking business and she wasn't interesting one bit. She excused herself and went to say hello to her friends' table, and to find Jack, of course. As she went down the staircase a guy who she had never seen before approached her, she got nervous.
"Are you Rose DeWitt?"
"Yes, may I help you?"
"Someone told me to give you this" he handed her a piece of paper and disappeared.
They know what you're doing. Be careful.
The situation was already weird, and to her surprise, she didn't find Jack on the table. His friends said he had gone outside to get some fresh air.
Jack's mind wandered at dinner. What would happen after the ship docked in Southampton? Would Rose really leave Cal for him? The moment he stepped outside he looked at the stars, asking his parents for guidance. His life had changed so much. He wasn't used to getting attached to things because he might lose them, but now he had Fabrizio, he had Tommy and he had Rose. And though he wouldn't admit it... he also enjoyed school, getting to know his classmates... he wanted to keep studying. He truly admired his art teachers, he had learned so much from them, and even considered them as confidants.
"Hey" the melodious voice behind him greeted him.
"Hey... you look beautiful"
"Thank you, so do you"
Jack hummed in disbelief and turned his gaze back to the sky.
"Are you talking to your parents?"
"I guess..."
"I'm sorry"
That was it. That was the last straw for him.
"Rose please, not you"
"What are you talking about?"
"Stop feeling sorry for me. Everyone else in this cruise does"
"I just said sorry. You don't have to talk to me like that..."
"The way you said it, the way you look at me. The way everyone in that table looks at me..."
"We just care for you, we don't want you to go through this alone"
"I'm sick and tired of this! Yes I lost my parents, get over it! Yes, I lived on the street, GET OVER IT! 'oh after all you've been through you poor thing, you have the best heart, you don't deserve to be alone on Christmas' No bitch, i don't have the best heart, I'm simply not as a shitty person as you are because I know how it feels to be outcast, I know how it feels to be alone, and miserable and thinking everything is your fault and that you don't deserve to live while everyone who had ever loved you is gone! And I simply don't want ANYONE to feel like that."
"Jack..."
"No! Just... leave me alone for a second... Look. I dunno what's gonna happen between us. When the ship docks... how can I be sure you're getting off with me? What guarantees you're not just... regretting it and going back to your sparkling luxury life?"
"What are you talking about? I told you I'm breaking up with Cal"
"You didn't even stand up for me this afternoon! How can I be so sure you're going to do that? You say you want me on Halloween, then you suddenly don't, then you kiss me, then you deny me. What are we doing Rose?"
"You just have to trust me, you jump I jump right?
"This time, I'm not so sure"
"Jack this doesn't sound like you"
"Oh it doesn't? You're right. Jack this, Jack that, Jack do this for me, Jack help me... that's more like me right? You know... the only thing I wanted for Christmas was to be able to be with you"
"BUT I ALREADY TOLD YOU! YOU HAVE MY HEART! WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT?"
"I JUST DON'T WANT YOU TO LEAVE LIKE MY PARENTS DID!"
Finally, he opened.