Lola crashed back on the deck with a loud thud. Her naked body was covered in sea water. She let out a loud, frustrated scream as she stood back up. She had been trying for who knows how long to leave the ghost ship. Thinking of her house was too painful after a while, so she moved on to other places around her town, the grocery store, library, museum… they all threw her back. She thought of places she wanted to see, Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Rome. They all threw her back. Every single time.

"Are you done yet, sweetheart? I mean, I love seeing you all naked and wet."

Tate had been watching her the entire time. He was leaned up against the railing on the deck with his arms crossed and a pained look in his eye. He hated seeing her torture herself over and over again.

As her body dried and her clothes slowly formed onto her body, she glared at him, "Just leave me alone."

"You and me are the only two on this boat," Tate unraveled his arms and walked towards her. "The rest of eternity is going to be pretty lonely if we avoid each other."

Lola stopped him before he got too close, "I'd rather spend the rest of eternity alone than spend one more second with you."

Tate looked at the ground with a scowl. Her words stung like poison. He loved Lola, and he was determined to make her love him back.

"You don't mean that."

"Oh, I mean it, Tate."

Tate clamped his hands around Lola's face and forced her to look at him. She struggled for a second, tried to float away, but something was restricting her. She went limp and gazed back at the ghost boy.

"What do you want?" She hissed.

"Why don't you love me?" Tate questioned, his voice laced with hurt. "Why can't you see that you and I have a connection? We are bonded for life. We are meant to be together."

"How can I love someone who loves pain more than they love me?" Lola finally said after a long second. "When you and I were alone in that room, Tate, I saw the world in your eyes. But you can't let yourself be happy. You hurt so much- I can see that. You make others hurt as much as you do. I won't let myself be a part of that anymore."

She had finally given him a solid answer. It is what he wanted the entire time. A reason. Something to work with. He didn't know if her sunken in face and weepy words hurt him more than her words.

"I can change."

Lola gave a sad laugh before floating away, leaving Tate alone on the deck. Lola materialized in a random room on the ship. She just wanted to be away from him. Away from the ocean. Just as she was about to complain to the dusty room about how she was still naked, her clothes appeared on her body.

"I wish I could've died in something cool," She mumbled to herself. She was going to be spending eternity in a grey V-neck shirt, some jeans, and a pair of converse. She would much prefer to spend the rest of time in her favorite jammies or a nice parka.

After a brief pity party, Lola examined the room she was in. It was a small sleeping quarter, holding a chipping bunk bed. The blankets were rustled into piles that spilt off the bed. She reached down and straightened the bottom bunk a little. That's when she noticed a knapsack tucked between the pillow and the wall. It looked familiar. Too familiar. Lola's stomach turned as she picked it up and flipped it open.

Inside was a wrinkled family photo. Her parents were standing close together, their hands intertwined. They rarely ever showed affection in front of anyone, but that day her father was feeling extra loving. RJ, Aaron and Josh were all standing in a row with goofy smiles and their arms draped over one another. Lola never realized exactly how much they all looked alike until just now. Then there she was, sitting on the ground with her legs curled up beneath her.

She remembered that day perfectly as she stared at the photo. It was her mother's birthday, and they had surprised her with breakfast in bed. Lola wasn't a master chef, but with the help of her brothers and dad, they managed to make a pretty good meal. After mom had properly woken up she insisted they spend the day on the water. It was the one thing that made them all happy. So they packed some food for the extended day and headed out to the boat. It was a fishing boat, but that didn't mean they couldn't use it for a fun recreational day. And that's what they did. They didn't make it back to shore until the sun dipped below the ground.

Of course she was crying when she snapped back to reality. She was never going to have that again. Her tears of sadness quickly turned to tears of anger. Eternity was a long time, and she didn't want to spend it feeling sorry for herself. No, she was going to do something about it. Being a spirit trapped on a ship left her with little options. But she had a plan. A plan that would show Tate that she wasn't going to crawl back to him after what he did to her.

She pictured herself near a designer clothing store in New York City. She'd never been to the city before, but she had seen plenty of pictures to know if she put her mind to it, she'd end up where she needed to be. The familiar whirlwind feeling swept over her, and in a second, she was in a clean looking alley. She walked towards the light and noise and ended up on the street of New York City.

Nothing she had ever heard about the city would've prepared her for what she was seeing. It was definitely a big change from her small Alaska town. People brushed past her with destinations. Tourists marveled, aiming their cameras at every building and bird. The street was packed full of taxis, honking their horns every few seconds.

"I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore," She mumbled under her breath as she turned in a circle.

She was standing in front of a massive white building with red awnings that stated "Barneys New York" in solid white letters. It looked expensive, and that's what she wanted. She walked into the store and caught her breath. The air just smelled expensive. She wandered through the light crowd of people, her eyes scanning the clothing around her.

"Miss, may I help you with something?"

Lola spun around, startled. A woman with dark skin and bright eyes stared at her with a smile.

"First time in the city?" She asked.

"That obvious, huh?" Lola blushed.

"I remember when I first arrived here. I used to live in Iowa. It's a big difference."

"That's for sure," Lola said. "Um, I'm looking for a… sexy outfit. I'm going on a date tonight and I want to look irresistible."

The woman smiled, "Follow me. We just got this Michelle Mason dress in that is very sexy. It's been popular with all the young women."

She navigated through the sea of clothing, making an abrupt stop at a slim piece of clothing on a rack. The woman proudly held up the dress in front of Lola.

"Here it is!" She exclaimed. "What do you think?"

It was a short strapless white dress with black lace over it. It looked like a piece of lingerie.

"That's definitely sexy," Lola said hesitantly.

"You have to try this on," She stated. "What are you, a size 3?"

"I have no idea," Lola admitted.

After giving her a strange look the lady shoved the dress in her hands, insisting she was a size 3. On their way to the dressing room they stopped to pick up a pair of leather peep toe shoes.

Once inside the brightly lit dressing room, Lola slipped out of her ordinary clothes and into the dress. It fit like a glove, and it looked damn well on her. It hugged every part of her ghostly body. The top must have had some magical breast growing powers, because her chest looked a lot bigger. The shoes only added to the picture. She looked like a bonafied sex bomb.

"Well?" The lady asked from the other side of the door. "How does it look?"

Lola wasn't going to stick around to give her an answer. She pictured herself back in the alley besides the store. She quickly went back to the street and searched for a place where she could get some makeup. She didn't need anything fancy, so she dunked into a nearby Wallgreens, snatching some red lipstick, eyeliner, and foundation on her way to the bathroom. After a quick self-makeover, she took a deep breath and initiated her main plan.

In her head she imagined a place out of a movie where the girl and guy meet at the bar and have a tumultuous relationship that ends up with them realizing they need each other to survive. It was a classy place, but not so fancy that it pushed away the youth that was dying to act like grownups.

Then she was there. It was the place she dreamed of. It was a modern playground made of whites and grays. The ceiling above her housed lines of paper lanterns. Some new hip music played loudly, but not so loud that it shook the lanterns. The bar, she decided as she walked towards it, was going to be the best place to put her plan in action. She ordered a drink, not knowing what she'd be getting.

She hadn't even received her drink before a handsome man approached her with a smile. His eyes were bright and his hair was dark. His features were sharp, like they were chiseled out of stone. He was wearing a business jacket over a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. He had to be some sort of model.

"Hi sweetheart," He said. His voice was as smooth as his looks. "Let me buy that for you."