The air on the deck was cold and biting. The stars overhead were marvelous and bright. The mood was on fire from the dancing and music in third class. Seventeen-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater had never felt so alive in her entire life. She had, for once, experienced what life could be like outside of her world and dare she admit she had developed a taste for it. She dreaded reaching the entrance of first class. Twenty-year-old artist Jack Dawson walked beside her. He, too, was exhausted and giddy from the night’s events.
The pair had met just twenty-four hours before at the stern of the ship. Rose had been ready and willing to end her life when Jack had pulled her back and convinced her to live instead. Ultimately, he had saved her life, and this morning, when she awoke, she had been grateful Jack Dawson had been there to save her.
Their day had been spent walking along deck and talking of their dreams and the places where Jack had visited in his lifetime, since his parents had passed away in a house fire in the summer of 1910. He was alone in the world and Rose couldn’t help but feel for him. His talent was art, and that afternoon, as he had opened his portfolio for her, she had been simply stunned by his work.
Rose’s fiancé, thirty-year-old Caledon Hockley of Hockley Steel, had invited Jack along to dinner, mostly to amuse himself rather than paint Jack as a hero, but Jack had turned the tables and amused them all with his talk of making life count. Rose had made a toast, and as Jack had glanced at her, she had felt a spark she had never felt before.
After dinner, Jack had taken Rose below decks to his world, where she had met many different people from different cultures and nations. His world was so different from hers. She had danced with Jack without a care in the world. She was sure if Cal found out he would try to put her back in her place, but she hadn’t thought of that then.
Jack’s suit jacket hung over her shoulders, shielding her from the cold. She could feel Jack’s gaze on her every few seconds and turned to smile at him.
Still in high spirits from the night’s dancing, Rose began to sing a song which had been popular the year before.
"Come Josephine in my flying machine and it’s up we go…up we go," she sang sweetly. Jack, too, joined in, slightly off key, but carrying on nevertheless. "Balance yourself like a bird on a beam. In the air she goes! There she goes! Up, up, a little bit higher! Oh! My! The moon is on fire."
The first class entrance loomed, and as quickly as it had come, Rose’s happy mood disappeared. A small frown fell on her face, as she knew she would have to return, that the happiness of tonight would only last just a few more seconds. Jack sensed her dread. Rose turned to Jack, slid his jacket from her shoulders, and handed it back to him.
"I don’t want to go back," she confessed, smiling a little. She thought of a reason, any reason she could think of to prolong her return to reality. Turning her attention to the beautiful starlit sky, she instantly became lost in the sight. "Look…it’s so beautiful. So vast and endless."
Jack came beside her and gazed at the sky himself.
"My crowd, Jack. They think they’re giants, but they’re not even dust in God’s eye."
"You know, there’s been a mistake. You got mailed to the wrong address." Jack smirked and Rose broke into laughter.
"I did, didn’t I?" Moments later, a shooting star swept across the sky. "Look! A shooting star!" Rose exclaimed, pointing.
"Wow…that was a long one. You know what Pa used to tell me? That every time you saw one, it was a soul going to heaven."
"I like that. Aren’t we supposed to wish on it?" Rose asked, and turned her head to face Jack, not knowing just how close they had become since spotting the shooting star.
"What would you wish for?" Jack gazed down into Rose’s eyes. He could feel the tiny contact between them. Rose gazed back and took a look at his face and his lips. She wondered for a split second what it would be like to kiss him. She smiled and awakened herself from the unreal moment she had just been in.
"Something I can’t have."
The mood turned slightly awkward and Rose felt discomfort. Her reply had obviously indicated she wanted Jack. She began to take quick steps to the first class entrance in an attempt to walk away from the new situation.
"Good night, Jack."
Within seconds, she had disappeared, gone back to her world, leaving Jack alone once again. He called after her, but she never returned. He thought of following her, but he was at loss as to what to say. All he knew was that she was a beautiful woman he wished to become well-acquainted with. Her passion for her dreams was outstanding. He could imagine her being a woman who would love a man with all of her heart and soul.
Jack bowed his head and took small, hesitant steps back towards his berth, knowing only darkness and loneliness awaited him.
Inside the B-Deck hallway, Rose could feel her heart thumping in her chest. She felt alive, just like a seventeen-year-old girl should. Her hands were noticeably shaking. She took one look at her gaudy, expensive engagement ring and began to giggle hysterically. Tonight, she had danced with a man she barely knew. He had held her body close to his. She had defied her family and society, and she had to admit to herself that it felt good. Settling herself against a wall, she rolled her head backwards before glancing back towards the entrance she had come through. She had heard Jack’s call to her, but she had chosen to ignore them. Taking one last deep breath, she pulled out a few pins and freed her hair. She instinctively broke into a run, back through the entrance and back down the deck she and Jack had walked on.
"Jack!" she called a few times, but a reply failed to come. She picked up her pace and found the third class entrance. There she found the shadow of a man, slowly strolling. "Jack!" she called.
The figure halted and turned. Rose’s face broke into a smile as she realized it was him.
"Rose?" was all he said as he frowned, confused as to why she had followed him. Her face became serious, realizing she did now not know what to do or say. Nervously, she wrung her hands.
"Jack…I…don’t know why…"
"I didn’t ask why you’re here."
Rose gazed at his lips and shuddered from the cold. Jack placed his jacket around her shoulders, and as his knuckles grazed her, he felt something he had never felt before. He gazed into her eyes once more before leaning forward and grazing her lips with his just once.
He awaited a bad reaction, but instead she simply smiled a sweet smile.
"I called after you," Jack confessed.
"I know. I ignored you at first." Rose bowed her head, feeling slightly guilty.
"Oh? Why?"
"I don’t know. Maybe I feared this happening."
Jack raised his brows and exhaled a little. "And now that it has happened?"
"I fear nothing, Jack."
Taking her hands in his, he gently kissed her face before kissing her lips. Their heartbeats quickened and everything else seemed to dissolve away. This was their moment, and only theirs.
Neither would experience this sort of magic for a long time to come.