Defenceless

30. The Eye of the Hurricane

Everything is fine as long as we go to sleep or get distracted. We blind ourselves from reality... sometimes it's a good escape, a protection, but it can't last forever...

"Hey! Thanks for helping me out" Jack greeted Rose with a big warm hug when she arrived at the entrance of the RMS, little did they know, they had a giant storm ahead of them, but tonight, there was quiet.

Jack was a sobbing mess after Cal dragged Rose that night, she woke up and assured Jack she was fine and that Cal would take care of her, she agreed to go back to her suite afterwards. The photography thing was just an excuse to see her again... when will they stop needing excuses to see each other? He just wanted to know she was okay... that's all he wanted.

"No problem, extra credit?"

"More like 'we wanna make sure you're learning because you seem to be daydreaming all day'". Jack gladly grabbed Rose's bag and put it over his shoulder, then he pulled her in for a kiss, without separating their heads from each other, he whispered "how you've been? I was worried"

"I'm okay"

"Yeah?" His thumb caressed the skin on her arms and face. He had missed her touch, her warmth. "You sure?"

"Yeah"

"What did your mom say?" He changed the topic so she wouldn't feel overwhelmed, he didn't have a clue of her inner battle with herself.

"I told her I would have a sleepover with a friend"

"Alright friend, do you have a change with you?" Jack asked, feeling the lack of packing in her small tote bag.

"Yes I do"

"Okay..."

He was happy to have Rose by his side, at least for tonight. He would make sure to keep her safe. Rose felt relieved in his company, she didn't ever want to leave him. Jack silenced all the ghosts.

They walked to Jack and Fabrizio's cabin. Jack had a very specific idea of what he wanted to do. They entered to find Fabrizio watching Queer Eye on his computer, which he closed immediately before the couple could tell what it was on.

"Out"

"I thought it was tomorrow..." Fabrizio mumbled as he grabbed his laptop and headed to Tommy's.

"Alright... whatcha wanna listen to?" Jack said as he turned on the mini Bluetooth speaker.

"Um... I don't know... whatever i guess"

"Alright" he put one of his playlists on shuffle; cheers by blackbear and wiz khalifa started playing. Jack went quickly through all of his drawers looking for a white shirt that Rose could wear and that would look oversized on her, then he grabbed his camera and adjusted the settings. "Here, can you put this on?"

"Yes" she replied and changed shirts.

"Just leave the shirt on" Jack said, not looking away from the camera. He had already drawn her completely naked but something felt different this time, lack of adrenaline maybe? Posing for Jack was something neither of them would ever get used to. Rose consciously unzipped her jeans and took off her shoes. She was nervous, but tried not to show it; Jack could definitely sense her so he didn't make a big deal out of it, after all, it wasn't the first time he would be photographing someone naked... but we're talking about Rose, and everyone who knew Jack, knew the beautiful redhead had managed to break his walls and held a special place in his heart. The artist had full control of the charcoal, the pencil and the brush, a camera however... captured every little detail.