WriterFreak001:

Heh… I hope you haven't forgotten this story!

Now that Kill Switch is finished, I thought I would throw out chapter 2!

PS. Because I don't feel like continuously rewatching Titanic in order to write this AU, I'm going to base the events of the movie off of my memory and make up the rest, haha. After all, this story is loosely based, is it not? ;)

As of now, only the first chapter of my multi-chapter stories will have the story info. ;)

The Scorpion

Written by WriterFreak001

Chapter 2:

First Glance

~ SCORPION ~

The first night on the Scorpion was incredibly dreadful, but the next morning was absolutely worse. Not only did Paige have to suffer through her fiancé's stabs at her taste in art as she instructed the staff to mount her favorite pieces in various locations inside the suite, but she was also forced to sit through another boring dinner as her mother gossiped with other first class men and women. Both Drew and her insufferable mother tried engaging her into the multiple conversations, but she mostly stayed quiet and listened to the chatter around her.

Just to spite her mother, she lifted her cigarette and lit it carefully before casually smoking its fumes.

"You know I don't like that, Paige," her mother quietly spoke, giving her a pointed look.

"I know," Paige flashed her mother a knowing smile and continued with her cigarette.

Drew immediately whisked it away, stubbed it out and laughed loudly before nodding to the waiter. "We'll have the lamb. Rare, with a little bit of mint sauce." He turned to Paige and smirked, "You like lamb, don't you, sweet pea?"

Paige dramatically rolled her eyes as a distinguished, Italian, middle aged man raised an eyebrow at her fiancé. "Are you going to cut her meat for her too, Drew?"

Drew scoffed as he withdrew his arm around Paige's shoulders, and Paige muttered a small 'thank you' to the man sitting across from her, and he winked in return. The Italian turned his direction towards Mr. Ismay, the managing director of the White Star Line, and flexed his large knuckles. "So, who came up with the name, Scorpion? Was it you, Bruce?"

Bruce Ismay smirked. "I wanted a name that conveyed power and size and durability. Nobody messes with a scorpion, so the name seemed fitting."

Paige looked up from her food and blinked at Bruce Ismay before saying, "Do you know of Dr. Freud?" She waited a beat before continuing. "His ideas about male preoccupation of power and size might be of some interest to you, Mr. Ismay."

The Italian, Cabe Gallo, if she remembered correctly, snorted as Bruce frowned.

"My God, Paige," her mother snapped. "What's gotten into you?!"

"Excuse me," Paige said flatly as she rose from her seat and swiftly walked from her mother's company. She was just tired, absolutely and incredibly tired of living a lie, and she wanted out! She didn't want this life anymore, and the more her mother pressured her to continue living as a fraud, the more she wanted to scream.

But even if she did scream… even if she did release her pent up anger and her pent up frustrations, no one would hear her. She was drowning in a world she didn't want to live in, and she was alone in it.

~ SCORPION ~

"Hey," Walter softly knocked against a door and smiled as his older sister, Megan, stopped what she was doing and gasped when she saw him.

She dropped the sheets she was cleaning and threw her arms around him, giving the inventor a tight hug. "I can't believe you made it!"

"I told you I would find a way," the man grinned as he leaned backwards to take a good look at his sister. He hadn't seen her in almost three months since he found out she was employed by the White Star Line to assist a first class family during their travels to America.

Megan withdrew her arms from her brother and folded them against her chest as she gave him a stern look. "You've lost weight."

"I… I haven't been eating much." Walter answered truthfully. "But don't worry about me, I've been pretty well fed since I boarded the ship."

"Good," Megan relaxed and leaned against the frame of the door. "So… how was England?'

Walter shrugged. "Nothing I haven't seen before."

"True," Megan nodded slowly. "Anyway, as much as I would love to spend more time with you, I have to get back to work. The family I am assisting is very demanding."

"Are they treating you well?"

"So far," Megan nodded. "I'm mostly assisting a young woman, Paige. She's nice and gives me simple tasks; she's even offered to help, too." Megan smiled at the memory of Paige lending a hand to clean up a mess her fiancé had made. "She's unlike any of the wealthy people I've ever assisted, and I have a feeling she and I will be great friends. She even lets me call her 'Paige,' instead of Miss Paige or Miss Dineen or just plain ole Miss. And she has a strong passion for art, unlike her fiancé. I don't like her fiancé; he's crude to her, and by the way she rolls her eyes at almost everything he says, I'm pretty sure she doesn't like him either." Megan suddenly smirked. "I think you'd like her, Wally."

"Perhaps," Walter mused as he leaned against the opposite frame as his sister. "But, you're forgetting that I'm third class, and she's first class. The odds of us ever meeting are infinitesimal."

"True…," Megan slightly frowned.

"Don't worry about me, Megan," Walter quietly chuckled, "I know what you're trying to do, and while I appreciate your valiant efforts to set me up with an undoubtedly beautiful woman, I'm fine the way I am."

"I just don't want you to die alone, Wally," Megan sighed as she stepped forward and sidestepped to her abandoned work. "It's unbefitting, and the O'Brien name deserves to be passed on, and you," she poked at the inventor's chest, "are the only one who can continue the family line."

"Who knows," Walter shrugged as he pushed away from the doorframe and clipped his notebook underneath his arm, "maybe the O'Brien line will die with me."

Megan rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. "One of these days, Walter, I'm going to acquaint you with a beautiful woman, and you'll be begging to take back those words." She turned the pile of clean sheets resting on a shelf and added, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some beds to make, and I'd rather do them now then get scolded later."

Walter stepped back from the door and shoved his hands into his pockets as Megan, with a tall pile of sheets resting on her palms, weaved through the opening and slowly turned left. "Do you need help? I can carry those of you."

Megan craned her head towards him and flashed a brief, appreciative smile. "Thanks, Wally, but it's against the rules, and both of us could get in trouble if I let you carry anything belonging to a first class family. With your luck, they might think you're stealing from them."

"Well it's a good thing I don't believe in luck, then." Walter smirked as his older sister dramatically rolled her eyes and shook her head slowly. "But… I'd rather not get you in trouble so I'll see you around, okay?"

"Don't be a stranger, Wally," Megan giggled softly. "I don't want to wait months to see you again."

"Don't worry," Walter chuckled, "You won't."

"I better not," Megan laughed as she carefully strolled down the hallway towards the elevator. Walter stayed where he was just long enough to make sure she wasn't going to drop anything and then, with a spring in his step, he pushed away from the door and swiftly headed towards the stairs leading to the poop deck, hoping to acquire some inspiration for a new invention.

…

He had been sitting on a bench along the railing of the ship for many minutes, oblivious to the world as he buried his nose into his notebook and sketched out a new idea to aid in industrious businesses.

"You know," Toby crossed his arms, capturing the inventor's attention, "as much as I applaud you for being capable of drowning out the world while voyaging on the world's fastest, largest ship, I do think you should close your notebooks for a while and just enjoy everything this ship has to offer. You're not an old fart, Walter; you're a young guy like me who deserves some fun."

Walter inhaled a deep breath and released it slowly as he carefully closed his notebook and gave his friend a pointed look. "You know me, Toby. Once I have an idea, I can't stop until I've written out everything the idea entails."

"You're stopping now," Toby smirked, and Walter rolled his eyes dramatically.

"The only reason I've stopped is because you're bothering me."

"Good," Toby plopped down next to Walter, "Then my plan worked."

"Just… give me five minutes. I should have everything written down by then."

"You could be already finished with a drawing of a naked woman in five minutes," Toby retorted, receiving another eye roll from Walter.

"I don't draw naked women," Walter grimaced, adding, "I don't even draw, Toby."

"But you could if you wanted," the American shrugged. "I've seen your invention sketches. They're pretty good; not sure how you don't consider that drawing, but trust me, a book of naked women would be far more interesting than a book of invention sketches. And you know I'm always right."

"A book of female nudity might be interesting to you, Toby, but not to me." Walter hissed, "Now if you're done here, I'd really like to finish jotting down my idea before it goes away."

Toby rose his hands in defense and stood up. "Fine. Fine. I'll leave you to your inventions, but promise me you'll do something other than work while you're on this ship. I don't care if you have a spitting contest or decide to get laid. Just do something other than work, okay?"

"Are you done now?"

"Only if you promise me you'll close your book after you're done with your invention idea." Toby pursed his lips and lifted an eyebrow as Walter sighed loudly.

"Fine. I promise," the Irishman huffed.

"Don't think about going behind my back, Walt. I've got eyes everywhere." Toby threw his hands about and began walking backwards. "And I mean, everywhere."

Toby spun around on his toes and trotted away as Walter absentmindedly flipped his notebook back open, but he didn't have a mind anymore to continue writing. His eyes had swept over his surroundings after Toby left and spotted a beautiful woman overlooking the sea. He was immediately mesmerized by her and couldn't look away. She had honey hair pinned in a net of curls below her bright yellow hat, and her matching yellow dress complemented her figure wonderfully. She was leaning over the railing of the top deck, taking off her gloves, one by one, before tossing them away from her. She then took off her outrageously large hat, briefly held it in her hands, and then, like her gloves, she flung it away from her, seemingly not having a care of where it went. Walter, though he struggled with reading people, could tell she was upset about something, and even though he had no idea who this woman was, he wanted to know her story. He wanted to know everything about her.

She inhaled a deep breath and sighed softly before she turned slightly and caught him staring at her. Her dark, long lashes fluttered at him, and his mouth involuntarily parted, sucking in air slowly, as she pinned her bottom lip underneath her teeth. He mindlessly licked his lips, and, in response, her deep, red lips faintly opened.

But then a man came up to her, touched the small of her back and whispered something, prompting her to leave with him quickly.

And just like that, as she strolled away without ever looking back at him, the magic was gone.

~ SCORPION ~

WriterFreak001:

This chapter was going to be longer, but I felt like this was an appropriate place to stop. :) Expect more frequent updates. Also, in case I don't post again by Thursday, this chapter is in honor and memory of all of the people who lost their lives or loved ones during the Titanic tragedy 104 years ago.

Please let me know what you think! :D