"Top of the mornin' to ya."

I roll my eyes at how ridiculous Derek is acting.

He tilts his bowler hat toward the passing couple on our left, and despite the look of confusion, the man returns the favor, acknowledging Derek as he passes by. If you told me only a few hours ago that I would be taking a literal stroll with Derek on the deck of the actual Titanic, I would have…I would have called the insane asylum.

The whole situation is freaking unbelievable.

I must admit that Derek does look rather 'dashing' in the clothes that Declan loaned him.

They were somewhat baggy, but overall, fit nicely. He wore a striped, dark navy button down suit. He even had on a long coat, despite the weather not being too cold…yet.

Derek said he wanted the 'full experience.'

He twirled a cane in one hand while bending his other arm for me to lightly grasp.

Overall, he looked like a proper gentleman, but I know it's all for show.

Don't get me wrong.

Derek was happy to see me alive. That much was evident. But his easy charm is slowly returning and soon we will be fighting. We always end up fighting.

"Stop acting so weird," I whisper.

"Oh, come on, Case. Lighten up. I'm just being polite," he winks at me.

Eh, I hate when he does that.

"First of all, Der…It's like three o'clock in the afternoon…so this whole 'top of the morning' to ya' business doesn't exactly work. It makes you look like a freak."

Derek chuckles. "They'll get over it. I'm just trying to have some fun. So, stop being such a prude and lighten the fuck up."

Excuse me?

I pull harshly on Derek's arm, stopping him in his tracks. He nearly loses his footing before pulling his arm from my grasp and pinning me with an agitated stare.

"Don't tell me to lighten up," I yell. He rolls his eyes before looking away. I grab him underneath the chin and force him to look at me.

"Does this look fun to you? If you haven't noticed, Derek, we're not exactly in Kansas anymore!"

I flail my arms wildly at our surroundings. Derek reaches out to grip my upper arms, stopping me from making a scene.

"Casey. You need to calm…down."

"Don't tell me to calm down! Do you have any idea what is about to happen?" I pull from his grip.

Derek looks around, and for the first time, I can see eyes on us. Some were concerned, while others were curious. Either way, they were watching us intensely, waiting to butt in at a moment's notice. I want to scream for them to mind their own damn business.

Derek smiles, nodding in their direction. "Women. Am I right?" he says, causing several men nearby to laugh before going back to reading their newspapers.

Seriously?!

Derek raises a cocky eyebrow. He is silently telling me that he has everything under control and that I need to stop acting so crazy. But I'm not crazy.

Or maybe I am crazy!? Maybe it is all a dream…or I'm the one stuck inside the looney bin and I'm trapped inside my own mind?

Maybe we're in heaven.

No.

If I'm dead, this is totally hell. Otherwise, I wouldn't be forced to spend my after life with Derek.

Derek turns away from me and continues to walk on. I chase after him, far from finished with this conversation. "Did you hear what I said?"

He gives a heavy sigh at my relentlessness. "We'll figure out a way home before that ever happens, Case. We have like…a few days. That's plenty of time to soak in the history and figure out how to time travel."

"How can you be so sure of yourself?"

"Easy. I'm Derek Venturi, and I always get what I want. And what I want is for you to shut the hell up and let me think."

"If you don't stop telling me calm down and shut up I'm going to knock your freaking teeth in you son-of-a…."

Derek places a hand over my mouth quickly, pushing me against a nearby door. The nerve!

I don't give a rat's ass if we're stuck in some time warp in 1912. If he thinks he can start manhandling me, he is out of his mind!

"Casey!"

I halt my struggle, my gaze seething.

A slow grin touches his lips, and it's hard for me to focus on what we have been 'discussing.' His face is only inches from mine and I can see the gold specks that float around in his dark eyes. My anger suddenly vanishes, and I can barely catch my breath.

He is such an ass.

But my God, he's beautiful.

Eh! I have got to stop thinking about Derek in that way. Where in the hell was this all coming from?

Every girl at school is obsessed with Derek. I am beginning to see what all the fuss is about.

And I hate it!

"I've got it!"

I reach up, pulling his hand from my mouth. "Got what?" I ask hesitantly.

"Maybe you and I were dropped here for some greater purpose."

"Such as?" I ask. I can't hide the irritation in my voice. Not that I want to.

"Now hear me out," Derek begins, turning away from me and walking towards the railing, gazing out at the ocean. He looks excited. "Maybe…just maybe, we were teleported to the past so that we could save the day. I mean…crazier things have happened, am I right?" he shrugs.

"Doubt that," I say. There has never been a crazier instance, I'm sure of it.

"Well, either way, maybe we're supposed to…" he says, tapping his fingers against the metal at a rapid pace as the wheels in his head turn. "Figure out a way to keep the ship from sinking."

I know the look on my face is completely blank. What did he just say?

What are we? Superheroes?

"You want to keep the Titanic from sinking?" I ask, amused.

"Sure, why not? It's not like I have anything better to do."

"And just tell me, oh wise one," I say, putting a hand on my hip. "How are you planning on doing this? Are you wanting to pick up the ice burg and move it a smidge to the side?"

Derek scoffs, reaching his hand out and shoving me in the face. Did he just…? Okay, Derek seriously needs to learn to keep his hands to himself. Maybe if he hadn't failed grade one, he would know that by now.

"Stop…touching me!"

"Whatever," he says, folding his arms and leaning against the railing. "Listen. I've watched the movie, thanks to you and your love for fake romance. I'll just use what I've learned from that."

"I hate to break it do you, Derek, but Jack and Rose are fictional characters."

"Duh, Princess. But what about all those other people."

"Other people?" I ask curiously.

Derek leaps forward, stopping a young boy from walking past.

"Excuse me, my good man. Can you point us in the direction of the Captain's quarters?"

I'm on a mission.

I round the corner, taking long strides. I can hear Casey's skirt rustling behind me as she runs and hops, trying her best to keep up. The corridor is narrow, and I have to turn to my side as a family passes by, flattening my back against the off-white wall behind me. A young girl steps on Casey's skirt, nearly taking my stepsister down to the ground. I grab her on instinct, waiting until she steadies herself.

This saving Casey thing is starting to get old.

And if we don't come up with a way to stop the Titanic from ending up two miles below the ocean once again, I am going to have to pull a miracle out of my ass to save us both. Let's hope I'm more successful this time around than I was before.

I breathe out in irritation, releasing my hold before bolting down the long hallway once again.

After talking to the kid up on deck, he told me where Captain Smith's 'cabin' was on the Upper E deck, but that it was the middle of the day and he wasn't likely going to be in.

But it was still a start. What other lead did I have?

"Derek." I can hear Casey say my name in a loud whisper, but I ignore her. "Derek! You can't just knock on the Captain's personal room."

"And why not?" I ask, an easy grin on my face.

"What are you going to say? 'Oh hey, Captain, I can see into the future and we're all going to die?" Casey imitates me, pathetically trying to lower her voice.

I sound nothing like that.

"What have we got to lose?" Only our lives. "Here it is. Room B 38."

I stop abruptly. Casey knocks into me, but I barely move. She's like 115 pounds soak and wet, which is why I laugh at her every time she gets a little feisty. Like, what is she actually going to do to me? Annoy me to death?

She has come close a few times, let me tell you.

I lift my hand to knock, rapping on the door loudly with my knuckles. Seconds tick by. Nothing.

This time, I lift my fist and begin to bang, much to Casey's embarrassment.

Once again, nothing.

"See, he's not in. Can we go?" she says, tugging on my coat. Just then, the door swings open and we stare straight ahead, our mouths hanging open in unison. I can only imagine how we must look.

Standing before us is an older man with a grey beard as he wipes his face with a towel. "Yes?" he asks softly, forcing the smallest of smiles.

"Wow," Casey says.

Wow is right.

You see, it's one thing hanging around people on deck that you've never heard of. They were only a part of a number. The number of people on board. The number of people who died.

But this…this is like coming face to face with Abraham Lincoln himself. Okay, maybe not quite. But pretty damn close.

The guy has his own Wikipedia page! I mean, how cool is that?

Casey hits me in the stomach with her elbow, bringing me back to reality.

"Yo!"

"Seriously, Derek," she hisses. I clear my throat, trying again.

"Nice weather we're having, huh?" I say loudly, cringing at my own voice.

"Very nice, I agree," he says politely. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"We're moving a little too fast don't you think." I say, finally finding my own voice and getting right to the point. I clear my throat once again, gazing at Casey momentarily. I'm trying to keep it casual, but dropping hints has never been my strong suit.

I've always went for the 'tell it like it is' approach.

Aside from speaking the truth to Casey, that is. I still can't bring myself to do that quite yet, even though she died in my arms only this morning.

Or at least I thought she had died.

I know what you're thinking. By now, I should have taken her in my arms and professed my undying love given everything we've been through today. Well...mind your own business! I'll get there eventually. Rome wasn't built in a day.

"We're making excellent time, I assure you," Captain Smith says, reaching to close his door. "Now if you will excuse me, I have to finish getting ready for dinner."

"But what's the rush!" I say, sticking my foot out to keep the door from closing in my face. "I mean, we're talking about a once in a lifetime opportunity here. We should soak in the experience and not let it whhhoooshhhh by, hmm?"

"Do you have concerns about our speed?"

"Just a bit," I chuckle, making a small gesture with my thumb and forefinger. "Don't you think arriving on your own personal schedule isn't nearly as important as the safety of your passengers?"

"What my stepbrother means to say," Casey cuts in front of me, speaking for the first time. "is that we're concerned given the calm water."

Captain Smith gives his first genuine smile as he gazes down into Casey's sweet face. I feel like gagging. She always has the most innocent smile whenever she talks to anyone but me. Okay, maybe she has tried a few times to turn that beautiful gaze my way, but I can't help it if I panic. So, I end up calling her ugly and running away with my tail tucked between my legs.

Otherwise, I'd end up taking her in my arms and kissing her senseless.

I had to be a jerk. There was no other option.

That irresistible wholesomeness thing she has going on is so fucking hot that I can't trust myself around it. My cock is getting hard just thinking about her trusting me with that sweet little body, those pretty blue eyes looking up at me while I…

"Right, Derek," Casey turns to me for confirmation, and I have zero idea of what she just said. I swallow hard, nodding my head in agreement anyway.

"Mmmhmmm."

"Good. So, it's settled. We would love to join you for dinner tonight, Captain. Thank you for the invitation."