Chapter 5 - Realization

"Is he coming?"

"No, I don't think so," May whispered hastily as Jimmy popped off the cap of the black pen.

They were in Bruce Baxters room, which was just down the hall from the galley, they would have to act quickly. May had found it hard not to scoff, as she saw all the movie posters on the wall, this guy sure was full of himself.

Jimmy began drawing a moustache on one of the posters, "'Okay, well you keep watch till I'm done this one."

After awhile all the posters were covered in moustaches, unibrows and many unflattering tattoos; including one that read, 'I love my mommy.'

May found it extremely hard not to laugh loudly, but she managed to hold it back.

Suddenly she heard heavy footsteps coming down the hallway.

"Jimmy! He's coming!" She yelled out quietly.

"Damn! Looks like this one will be unfinished!" He snickered, as he popped the cap back on the pen and began to push May out the door quickly.

They ran down the hall, almost bumping into Baxter himself, who raised a suspicious eyebrow at them.

"See ya later Bruce," May said politely, stifling her laughter.

"Yeah, yeah later kid."

They continued down the hallway until they returned to the galley once more.

Thomas was still sitting at the table with Mike and Herb. Jack had appeared at another table with his typewriter, and Carl at his side.

"Ah May! You haven't happened to have seen one of Jack's pens have you? Seems he's running short-"

Unconsciously she threw the pen onto the table, "Sorry, I borrowed it for bit!"

Carl gave her a strange look, "Alright then, well next time tell him so I don't get in trouble for it," He muttered as he walked by her, "I shall see you all tonight! We have a very important scene to film, so much to plan!" And with that he was humming happily down the hall.

Jack's eye shifted from May to Jimmy as they grinned mischievously to each other, "What are you two up..."

A piercing scream echoed throughout the hallways, cutting Jack off mid-sentence.

"Ah, of course," Jack shook his head, with a gentle chuckle, looking back down to his typewriter.

Heavy stomping soon ensued and May and Jimmy took that as a clear indication that it was time to hide, and quickly at that.

"Well, it was lovely chatting, really must get back to work!" May shouted following Jimmy out of the door hurriedly.

"Children these days," Thomas mumbled through the cigarette in his mouth.

There was a storm coming. At least that's what Englehorn had told her. May didn't know how he knew exactly, but she assumed it was some sort of sixth sense that came with being a captain.

She had run into him on deck, while she was waiting to shoot a scene with Ann.

"Are you enjoying your trip Ms. Beaulieu?" He had asked kindly in his soft German accent.

She hesitated, slightly excited that she was finally having a conversation with the Captain of the ship, he hardly ever left his room, "Yes I really am! It's good to get away from the city."

Englehorn had smiled gently at this, he turned to face the ocean, "Beaulieu is french, oui?"

She looked to him, slightly surprised, "Oui, monsieur. Est-ce que tu sais comment on parle francais?"

"Un peu," He responded, with a deep chuckle. He lit a cigarette and inhaled the smoke smoothly, before releasing it into the chilled air. He rested an arm over the railing of the ship and looked out into the never ending horizon, the water illuminated only by the oranges and pinks of the setting sun.

May laughed openly, "My grandfather came from France in the late 1890's, he moved to New York later on, where he met my grandmother." She explained, "What about you? I would guess...Deutsch?"

He smiled meekly, "Then you would be correct."

"I've always wanted to go there," May said in an absent-minded tone, staring down at the soft waves lapping against the side of the Venture.

Englehorn watched the young woman curiously, but did not respond.

"May!" Carl was calling out for her once more.

May sighed tiredly, Carl never gave her a moments rest, "I better get back, have a good evening Captain!" She grinned.

He gave her a grin, "Bonsoir." But as soon as she was out of sight, the smile faded. He looked back out to the water and sighed, letting the smoke escape his mouth.

A heavy feeling of regret sat in his mind.

That evening they were filming a scene with just Ann. She looked breathtaking, with her thin white dress blowing in the cool ocean breeze. It was a very emotional shot of Ann on the edge of the rusty ship, the evening sunset directly behind her. She had tears in her eyes, everyone seemed to be captivated by her, but only one person seemed to have her attention.

"Jack, get outta here you're ruining my shot!" Carl whispered furiously.

Jack smiled sadly to Ann, before retreating back down to his room.

May grinned knowingly in his direction, as he made his way back down to the room full with animal cages and feces. Boy, was she glad she glad managed to get a room on the small ship. He hadn't even wanted to come along, and he was stuck with the worst room on the ship, if you could even consider it to be a room. It was more like a barn.

"Okay! That's a wrap!" Dehnam finally bellowed after a non-stop hour of filming.

As soon as the camera went off, Ann immediately went out of character. She wiped the fresh tears from her face and walked over to Thomas, who was patiently holding her blue jacket. She took the jacket from his hands and whispered a polite thank-you.

May wrapped the camera holder around her neck, letting the camera hang freely from her neck. She walked slowly over to Ann.

"That was amazing Ann! I didn't know you were such a great actress!" She complimented, truly surprised by her acting skills, she grinned and moved closer to Ann, putting her mouth close to her ear, "I'm pretty sure Jack wants to see you, he's below deck, you should go talk to him!"

May moved back, "Thank you May, um, yes I think I will go see what he's doing. I'll see you tomorrow then." Ann blushed lightly.

May waved cheerfully to Ann as she walked away gracefully to find Jack.

"You know, you shouldn't tease them," Thomas scolded her with a scratchy laugh; he was smoking on a long thin cigarette.

"Oh, don't ruin my fun," She pouted her lip, "Why exactly shouldn't I?"

He took a long drag on his cigarette, "Because then they might start teasing you."

"Tease me? About what exactly?" She asked curiously.

Thomas only smiled, raising his free hand and pointing to another side of the ship.

May's gaze followed his outstretched finger, looking past the numerous men working on the ship. Her eyes finally fell onto a certain figure, Jimmy. He was sitting on the bars surrounding the ship, one hand holding loosely onto some rope. Laughing freely, he began talking to an older man, who was cleaning the deck with a sopping wet mop.

Jimmy? What could they possibly say about her and Jimmy?

Her gazed remained fixed on his cheerful figure. He chuckled once more, although she didn't exactly know what they were saying. He turned his head unconsciously, a smile still planted on his face, and his eye landed directly on hers.

She couldn't look away, she didn't want to look away. The smile on his face began to die away, and turned into a look of curiosity. May suddenly looked away blushing, feeling rather stupid and embarrassed.

"I don't know what you're talking about," She muttered, trying her best to sound convincing.

He chuckled, "Of course you don't." And without another word, he walked away, following after Mike to help him with packing up the equipment.

May looked out at the ocean, confused by what had just happened. What could possibly be going on between her and Jimmy? Sure she loved talking to him, and being with him...

It was then that it hit her.

Perhaps her and Jimmy were becoming more than a friend, perhaps even much more than a friend. They had been spending a lot of time with each other recently.

Now that she thought about it, she pretty much liked everything about him, his crooked smile, his eyes, his laugh, his rebellious nature, the way that he looked at her.

May, on impulse, turned around, only to find that Jimmy was no longer there, she had no idea how long she had been standing there thinking to herself.

She shook her head, trying to clear the confusing thoughts running through her mind. But she couldn't help one question from entering her mind.

Did he feel the same way?