IF THAT'S WHAT IT TAKES
Chapter Three

The second the song ended, Rose moved away from Cal. Before he could say anything, she moved into the crowd of standing people who were forming a circle around the dancers. Right away, she started looking for the boy she had seen a few minutes ago. He had moved away a minute ago for some reason or other, and she had lost sight of him. Rose, though, had gotten a look at his eyes before he had moved. They were as blue as the ocean and held a piercing gaze to them. She had been mesmerized by those eyes and wanted to see them up close, just to see if they were as enchanting as they were from far away. Rose continued to look throughout those crowds of people, trying to find the boy. Suddenly, she thought she spotted him. She stopped by a pillar and looked across the room to see if it was indeed this boy. To Rose's disappointment, it wasn't. It was an older man with blond hair and the same type of mask as the boy. From where Rose was, she had a good view of the entire room, so she stayed put. Suddenly, she felt someone grab her hand from behind the pillar. She turned around and gasped at what she saw.

*****

Jack had finally spotted the girl when she had moved away from Cal and into the crowd. He had moved her way and been relieved when she stopped by a pillar. Jack took this opportunity to sneak up to her and stand slightly behind her. She was even more beautiful close up than from far away. For a moment, Jack was caught up in the color of her hair. It was such a different shade of red, a beautiful shade of red. Jack shook his head and took a deep breath before reaching out and taking her hand. He saw the girl gasp, and she turned almost right away. Her eyes became wide when she saw who it was, and then she began to smile. Jack pulled her into a more private room and kissed her hand, which he was still holding. The girl smiled and blushed. Jack smiled back at her and put his other hand up. The girl did the same, and they pressed their hands together. After a minute of looking at each other, Jack leaned in to kiss her. The girl pulled away before he could get a chance.

"You have beautiful hands," she said, speaking for the first time. "Artist’s hands, I see. Their touch is wonderful."

Jack smiled at her. "You have beautiful hands, too, you know."

The girl blushed again. "Thank you," she mumbled.

Jack moved closer to her. "Now, let's let lips do what hands do," he whispered to her. The girl's eyes sparkled and she smiled at him.

Rose watched as the boy moved even closer to her, almost so close that their bodies were touching. But Rose didn't feel smothered or even frightened by this stranger's forwardness. It felt so right and wonderful. Rose watched as he closed his eyes and moved his face close to her. Rose closed her own eyes and moved her own head to meet his halfway. The second their lips touched, Rose smiled within. This felt so right. Just their hands touching had been electrifying, and this was twenty times more electrifying than that. The boy began to kiss her more passionately and Rose eagerly responded, not caring who was watching or who might be around.

Jack groaned as their kiss deepened. Kissing her felt so right, as if they had been doing it for years. It didn't matter if they didn't even know each other's names or know anything about each other. All that mattered was that they were together. Jack moved his arms tighter around her and he felt her do the same. A minute later, they pulled away from each other and looked into each other's eyes. Jack saw that the girl's chest was rising up and down, but she was smiling at him. A second later, she moved close to him again and kissed him harder than before.

Rose felt wonderful as she kissed this boy. Nothing had ever felt more right to her. Something inside of her was telling her to that this boy was the one, her soulmate, and she wasn't about to let him go. Rose brought her arms up around his neck and felt him pull her closer to him. The entire world seemed to disappear as she kissed him tenderly. Then, suddenly, Rose vaguely heard someone calling her name.

"Rose! Rose, where are you? Rose! Rose, your mother wants to talk with you! Rose!"

Rose reluctantly pulled away and looked around. Right away, she saw her maid, Trudy, standing about ten feet away. She groaned in disappointment.

Jack felt the girl, Rose, pull away when someone called that name. She began looking around right away. Then he heard her groan. He followed her gaze and saw an older-looking woman standing a little way away, calling the name Rose. Rose looked at him and then shook her head. She raced off before he could say anything to her. The woman took her arm and started dragging her off. Jack followed them while Rose kept looking behind her and stealing glances at him. Jack stopped short when he saw who Rose was being led up to. The girl's mother was none other than the infamous Ruth DeWitt Bukater he had heard his parents talk about and point out so many times. Oh, my God, he thought as Rose started talking to Ruth. "Is she a Bukater?" he whispered to no one but himself. Then he realized the truth. He had fallen in love with the only daughter of his greatest enemy.

*****

Rose finished talking with her mother as quickly as she could and then turned to Trudy. "Trudy," she said, pointing to the boy, "see that boy over there?"

"Yes, miss," Trudy said, nodding her head.

"Go find out his name," she said.

Trudy nodded and went off to ask someone. Rose watched while she went up to a man and started conversing with him. As soon as she pointed to the boy, Rose looked back at him. She noticed something different about him. He had a disappointed, sad, almost angry look on his face. Rose wondered what could be causing him to look this way. Just then, Trudy came up, the same expression her face.

"His name is Jack," Trudy said, "and he's a Dawson. The only son of your great enemy."

Rose's face paled and she felt weak. Dawson? How can he be a Dawson? she asked herself.

Trudy shook her head and left Rose alone.

Rose stared at Jack while he stared back at her. The only person I have ever loved, sprung from my only hate, she said to herself. Oh, if only I had known earlier. She watched as one of Jack's buddies came up and took his hand, dragging him away. Rose sighed and tears came to her eyes. Why was life so cruel?

Chapter Four
Stories