Fanfiction by Jean

Heart in the Clouds

The ship leaves in an hour and I can't find my suitcase. This is supposed to be a great start to my summer vacation but with my luck, it'll only get worse.
It took me a while to find the suitcase but after I did I set off towards the dock. As I boarded the ship a crew member approached me and offered to grab my bags. He looked to be in his late 40s and he had short wavy brown locks of hair under his little paper sailor hat. He must've rushed to get ready because he had a subtle five o' clock shadow. I stopped for a second lost in his dark brown eyes and he gave me a little smirk.
"Hello?" He asked, waving his hand in-front of my face with a chuckle. His voice was gentle with a hint of Spanish influence on some of the vowels.
He guided me to my room, one relatively close to the second deck at the front of the ship.
B deck is arguably the best part of the ship because of its accommodations. There's two massive pools with a lazy river that encapsulates the pools. There are fake islands with plants and luscious trees. In the center, a large rock feature with trickling waterfalls and a tunnel underneath connecting the two pools. There are various bars and jacuzzis but the best feature is the large observation deck overlooking the ocean. The clear waters by the port shimmer in the sunlight and you can see bright schools of fish swimming through the binoculars built in on the edge of the rails, I was returning to my room to finish getting settled. I stopped to look over the balcony at the grand lobby and I spotted the cruiser who led me into to my quarters a few hours ago. His hat has become a little more tilted and his shirt came slightly untucked at the side. He carried a stack of towels and waved as he spotted me, continuing with his work seemingly in a rush. I continued to my room and got to look around some more at the features of the ship. The lobby had grand arches with ornate gold patterns and there were large satin drapes hanging from the ceiling all stemming from the large gold chandelier in the center.
After returning to my room I started to put away my clothes and toiletries into their respective drawers when I heard a knock at the door. "Come in!" I called. In popped the head of the crew member from earlier. "| hope Im not intruding?" He asked as he entered and closed the door behind him. "Not at all" I replied with sounding embarrassingly eager. "What brings you here?"
"'m off duty for the rest of the day and I was just checking if you got to see everything this ship has to offer." He smiled his cute grin at me with his one curl falling slightly over his forehead. He seems to have straightened up before stopping by because his shirt is no longer untucked and his hat is readjusted. "No I haven't had the chance to explore too much. I've looked around mainly on this level though." He reached for the door handle and turned back towards me. "| could give you a tour if you'd like?" "Lead the way." We walked out into the hallway towards the lobby when I asked,
"Do all of the passengers get this kind of treatment?" | asked as we approached the end of the hallway. "Not really," he replied, "Only the prettiest ones." You blushed. "You know I never caught your name." I returned as I was trying to hide my blushing cheeks. "It's Pedro, Pedro Pascal!" Pedro... hmmm.
He started by taking me to the bottom deck, deck
A, and we took a tour of the restaurants and stores in the small mall. There was quite a few small diners and breakfast restaurants along with the abundance of fast food restaurants that are easily found off ship. "This is the food court." He said grandly with his arms spread out in front of him. "Tada!" He said semi awkwardly. He turned back around and dropped his arms, I began following him and came up to his side. As we walked my hand brushed up against his and he slowly grabbed my hand and we continued with the tour. Entering the store available, there was a plethora of small souvenir shops and clothing stores as well as a small grocery store that was fairly overpriced. We entered one of the gift shops and walked around a bit. His hand was no longer in mine but I wished it were. We approached a small rack of jewelry and I looked around for a bit.
"Oh wow!" I exclaimed reaching out for a necklace.
"This is gorgeous." It had a small silver seashell on the end of a thin solid chain. Inserted into the shell was a small glass orb coloured dark blue and swirled with black. I set it back down on the hook and we continued on our way. Pedro smiled at me as we entered the elevator and he pushed the button to close the door. Inside, I looked awkwardly around the room until I glanced into Pedro's eyes, they had me in a trance until the door opened and we exited into the hallway.
We walked towards the top deck, much smaller than B deck. There's a small open air restaurant and bar and a line of telescopes along the side. As the sun began to set, we approached the edge of the balcony and looked out onto the water. "Hey look!" Pedro said as he pointed excitedly far out to the starboard side of the ship. I turned quickly just in time to see a two whales surface and jump out of the water only a few hundred feet away. I looked over my shoulder to face the sun and slowly edged towards the front of the ship. We were headed straight for the sunset. As I neared the railing I held on and took a deep breath and suddenly felt a hand on my side. I looked back as he pulled me in and let out a chuckle. He lifted me up and sat me in the edge of the railing and I let I out a little shriek as I started to lean forward a bit.
"Don't worry" he said, "I've got you." I sat there basking in the warm light of the darkening sky and leaned back into his chest. He had his hands clasped firmly around my hips. I could've sat there, trapped in that embrace, for hours.
The next morning I woke up and quickly got ready to go for breakfast. Pedro had showed me this nice looking restaurant on C deck that specialized in waffles and I decided I would go there. I closed the door but as I turned around I ran right into a man. I looked up and froze a little. He looked to be in his late 20s with a fairly robust torso and defined cheek bones. His eyes were a powerful shade of green, almost seductive in nature. He had messy light brown hair and quickly apologized in a British accent. "Oh I'm sorry love. Pardon me" His voice was rather soft and was very welcoming.
"N-No no it was my fault." I started to walk away when he spoke up. "Let me at least buy you breakfast to make up for it" | reluctantly obliged and we introduced ourselves. "I'm Taron" he said as he led me to the place Pedro had showed me yesterday evening on our walk. Pedro. I'm now torn between these two men that l've only just met, I want to go back to my room but I can't help but follow him. Is it his eyes? His charm?
We sit laughing in the restaurant for hours when we decide to go for a swim on B deck. We head back to our rooms and get ready to meet at noon.
I couldn't stop thinking about his eyes. They sucked my heart into their green vortex of wit and charm and his laugh, his laugh had me waltzing on air. But still, the whole time, i felt an ounce of guilt.
I had just spent hours yesterday getting close with Pedro and we hit it off. I was locked in his warm embrace for what seemed like an eternity. I never wanted it to end, and it seemed it had. I rush to get ready and I find my pink bikini and pull it out of the drawer. I put on a sun hat and lather on a small amount of sunscreen before leaving for the pool.
As I waited at the meeting spot, I looked around the deck in awe at the beauty of the faux greenery and tall rock features, and then I spotted him.
Pedro was sitting on a lifeguard chair across the first pool. I was looking at him, still torn between these two guys I had just met when Taron walked over in his short swim trunks. His cheekbones weren't the only definition on his body because he had a full six pack of rock solid abs and his thighs were accentuated by the short inseam of his trunks. He sat down on the bench next to me and ordered me a drink. "Care for a swim?" He asked.
"Sure" I replied eagerly, "let's go!" We headed towards the staircase into the pool when I noticed Pedro looking at me with no sign of his usual smirk, only a halfhearted grin and wave. I turned around reluctantly and continued walking with Taron to the other pool and we found a pool float and laid down next to each other. As we drifted on the water I suggested we look up at the clouds. I love looking at clouds. Something about finding shapes in the billows of mist that brings out a semblance of childlike innocence and serenity.
"Oh look!" I shouted, "it's an elephant" | looked over at Taron and back at the shape I was still pointing at in the sky. "I don't see anything" he replied with shrug and we quickly trailed off back into conversation.
After being in the pool and basking in the sun shortly after, we sat in one of the jacuzzis together giggling and talking some more when I started to get hungry. "i'm starved, I think I might go get something to eat." I started to get out of the hot tub and Taron quickly got up and followed. "I'll come with you." I agreed though for some odd reason I wasn't as excited as I'd felt this morning.
We headed back to our rooms and got ready.
Once again I was the first to show up to the restaurant and I looked around as I waited for him to show up. As my eyes scanned the various shops and eateries in the grand hallway, I spotted something that made my heart wrench. Pedro was sitting in a shop called La Tasse d'Amour, except ne wasn't alone, he was seated with another girl.
They were sitting across from each other and the girl was giggling with her legs crossed under the table. They put their cups together and took sips from their respective drinks. I looked down and could feel my eyes starting to water when I heard Taron call my name. We got seated and ate dinner for a few hours but all I could think about was Pedro sitting in that restaurant with another woman.
I woke up around ten thirty on Sunday and I stayed in my room for a few hours just watching old reruns of Saturday Night Live on TV. I decided I would get up and go for a swim to clear my mind. couldn't stop thinking about what happened yesterday. As I walked onto the deck I scanned around the swarms of people looking for a place to sit and spotted a chair by the right bean shaped pool. I made my way towards it following the edge of the pool and I dropped my things in the chair. I decided to go for a dive off the diving board by the deep end of the pool. I approached the ladder and started to climb. It was fairly tall and was situated close to the large rock feature dividing the pools. I got ready to make the jump when I spotted Taron sitting at the bar drinking and flirting with another girl. He held her hand and they chuckled. She was much prettier than me with longer hair and better features. As quickly as I had noticed him, I felt my foot walk off the edge of the board. Quickly trying to regain my balance I flailed my arms to no avail. I tumbled off the board and my back slammed right onto the rock wall. The last thing I remember was a figure diving in on top of me as I sank helplessly to the bottom of the pool. "Hello?" I heard a familiar voice call as I slowly started to regain consciousness. "You're back"
The voice called with an excited whimper. My eyes began to regain focus only for me to he looking right up into Pedro's eyes. I coughed and water came gushing out of my lungs. "There you go" He said with satisfaction. "You nearly drowned there.
What were you doing jumping into the mountain there, silly?" I was too shocked to speak. I didn't know what to think. The man who betrayed me had just saved my life as the other man that I thought might like me, betrayed me. "Thanks" I managed to cough up. "I'll take you to my quarters to get healed up, I have a first aid kit there." He picked me up and as I lay there curled up against his body, I noticed he too had rock solid abs, with a faint trail of hair leading down into his swim trunks his chest was warm and he had thick arms that pumped with each step he took. I looked up and saw his brown eyes staring directly into mine as he smirked the same smirk he had when we first met, only it made me feel more warm and fuzzy than the first time.
He sat me on the bed when we first entered his quarters. The room was much smaller than mine with no accommodations such as a tv or radio and there was the door to a small bathroom in the corner of the room. He folded down a first aid table from the wall and laid me on it. I was fully capable of getting up and walking there myself but I preferred this mode of transportation. He took out a roll of gauze and he wrapped it around my waist. There was a gash in my arm so he took a cotton swab and dipped it in rubbing alcohol. I winced and he quickly put a finger to my mouth and said, "Bite on it, it'll help with the pain. I ran out of the tongue depressors I usually use."
Reluctantly, I wrapped my teeth over his finger as he finished cleaning my wound. Once he placed the bandage over it and pulled his finger away I sat up. Suddenly he turned and made a quick shuffle to the tap and filled me a cup of water. "Take this and you should be good to go." He went and sat on the bed as I drank the cup of water. I returned the cup when I finished and he led me to the door.
"Was there not a first aid kit at the pool?" I inquired. "There was," he replied, "But I preferred taking the long way." He smirked and closed the door behind me as I walked back to my room.
I was able to remove the gauze around my waist the next day but the bandage would have to stay a few more. I woke up early and decided I wanted to go to the waffle place for breakfast. I took the scenic route on my way, meaning I passed through every deck and level on the ship before finding a seat at the waffle shop. Once seated the waiter took my order and I sat in the booth and read my book. A few minutes later I heard a voice over the edge of my book. "This seat taken?" It was Taron.
"Uhh, no" I hesitated. He looked at me smiling and I returned to my reading. " didn't get the chance to see you yesterday." He continued. "How have you been?" I looked back up and replied flatly,
"i've been better." I looked at him with disgust trying to get the point across without saying anything. Once those seductive green eyes had an air of mystery but now that the secret's been revealed they seem like bottomless pits. "It doesn't always feel great to see someone basically cheat on you." I stared him down with a scornful sneer. "That's gone now, nothing came of it. It's just me and you now." I stood up and I yelled at him. "Oh so that'll make it better. She's gone now? How could I have ever liked you?" I stormed off and made my way back to my room.
I jumped on the bed and started crying. Although I couldn't even tell if I had feelings for him, it still pained me that he would do such a thing. I sat up and turned on the tv. There wasn't much on, just your usual cop show and the same old game show so I left it on one of the latter to have some background noise while I read my book.
I was in my room for a good while when I heard a knock at the door. Beginning to worry who might be standing on the other side of the wall, I crept towards the door and put my hand on the handle.
Suddenly I heard a voice call "Hello?" It was Pedro quickly I wiped my face because I was just crying at what happened in my book, and I opened the door. "Hey!" I said as bubbly as I could muster after just bawling my eyes out. "Are you alright?" Pedro asked calmly as he stepped in. "May I come in?" He asked as he paused in the doorway. I said sure and he walked in. I sat down on the bed and began answering his prior question. "Yeah I'm alright, I was just crying at my book." He looked at me confused and looked down at the book which made him even more confused. He looked cute when he got confused, his nose started to crinkle and his eyebrows furred in different directions.
"Really? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows?" I looked up with half laughing half embarrassed and replied, "Dobby was my favourite, I hate the part when he dies." He picked up the book and found where I'd left my bookmark. He made his voice sound like a goblin and started reading
"That is pretty sad." He said with a stunned frown.
"But are you sure that's all that's bothering you?" I looked up with a quilts frown on my face. "Well.." He said closer to me and put his arm around me and started rubbing my shoulder. "Well, there is a few things on my mind. First, who was that girl you were sitting with in the restaurant at dinner the other day?" His face quickly shifted to a confused expression of contemplation as he recollected the evening in his head. "My boss?" He asked. We were in the coffee shop to discuss a promotion that was my first day as a lifeguard and she was giving me a review." I let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, so the whole time it was just your boss and I had nothing to worry about?" I quickly started to feel remorse because I realized what I had been doing that day. I went silent for a minute but decided to tell him, "I have a confession." I said regretfully. "I went out with another guy on the day you were out with your boss." He gave me a sorry expression. "I know" he said. "I saw you storm out of the waffle place this morning and I was on lifeguard duty that day if you remember, I saw it all." I looked disappointed, how could I have fallen for him so quickly and abandon Pedro with almost no hesitation? I looked back at him. "i'm sorry," I said. "He basically cheated on me the other day, I never really had feelings for him in the first place." He got off the bed and knelt down in front of me reaching out, he clasped my hands within his. "No, I'm sorry that you had to go through that. I felt devastated when i saw him at the bar that day you hurt yourself. All I could think about was you." He looked me right in the eyes and whispered, "I really like you y'know" He got up and kissed me and we snuggled up on the bed. "Shouldn't you be at the pool right now?" lasked. "Got time off to be with you." He replied and he pulled me in closer.
We had laid there for an hour. I could feel the steady beat of his heart as it pumped under his muscular chest, and his large arms held me tightly in an embrace that I hoped would never end. He smelled of strong ocean breeze and the scent began to rub off on me as the time had gone on.
He started to get up to go for lifeguard duty and I gave him a hug. He pulled me in and he kissed me on the cheek. His lips were soft and I'd hoped that he would move over a few more inches, but he had to leave in a hurry. "Would you like to join me for dinner on the top deck?" He called. "Seven it is." I replied eagerly and I shut the door with a sigh. I went to go lay down on the bed and quickly fell asleep.
I woke up in a meadow of yellow flowers enrobed in a flowing white dress. I got up and ran through the fields until I made it to the top of the grove. In the distance was a large lake surrounded by mountains. The sky as bright blue with large cumulous clouds floating by. I looked down the hill and saw a man dressed in a white suit, as I approached I discovered it was Pedro. I ran to him and grabbed his hands. He spun me around in the air and placed me down after. We quickly entered into a waltz and spun around in the tall grass. With every step my heart grew lighter and I felt like I was being pulled off the ground until finally we started to float. We continued to dance in the sky as we floated up into the stars. Waltzing on air we made our way across Saturns rings and into a galaxy of purple, pink and blue. He pulled me in for a kiss and we locked lips tenderly. Continuing our dance, I spun in and out of his arms and he dipped me over his arm. I stared into his eyes, a void of beautiful stars glimmering in the light. The stars faded however as I heard a knock and I woke up abruptly.
"Room service." A woman's voice called. "Come in!" I called tiredly. As she stepped in and looked at me she quickly apologized. "I'm so sorry, were you asleep?" | quickly stood up and straightened myself out. "No don't worry, I needed that, I have an important date in.." | looked over at the clock and it read 5:37. "..an hour and a half!" I said panicked. "Oh girl"she said and she stepped away from her cart of supplies, "Let me help you out." She led me to the bathroom and sat me down on a stool in front of the mirror. "I used to be a hairdresser back in my day so I can get you all fixed up." She started to lightly curl my hair, to the point where it wasn't too harsh and looked natural. "Thank you so much." I said. "How can I repay you?" She looked at me disappointed. "Oh girl you just need to not drop the ball on that date of y'all's." She finished my hair and attached some pretty pink pins on the side of my head. She started to do my makeup and when she finished I had beautifully plumped lips and she had managed to use concealer to hide all my blemishes. Not only that but she was able to make my nose look straight with contour. We picked a blood red dress with a beautiful bow on the waist with a gorgeous flowy bottom, When all was done it was around 6:45. "Thank you so much for taking your time to do this for me." She grabbed my hands and looked at me with a smile. "If I can't go out and get me a man, I might as well help you find one." (Periodt grandma)
I climbed the last flight of stairs and entered the restaurant. "Reservations Madame?" I gave him a smile and tilted my head in question, "Pascal?"I asked. He flipped through his book and exclaimed,
"Ah, follow me." He led the way to a side table with a view of the setting sun over the horizon.
There at the table was Pedro waiting for me with his jaw almost to the floor. His mouth stood agape as I sat down and he began to stutter, "uh-uh-umm," he cleared his throat and continued, "You look absolutely stunning." He stared at me with his dreamy eyes and he ogled as he looked me up and down.
"Thanks," I replied sheepishly, "not so bad yourself." we laughed. A waiter came up to us and asked for our order. I got chicken Alfredo and he ordered an 8oz steak. We ate and talked for a while as the sun was quickly setting beside us. I spilled a drop of butter beside my lip and he quickly grabbed a napkin and dabbed it up. "Don't want that spoiling your beautiful face." I chuckled and we continued eating. When the waiter returned to take our plates away, Pedro whispered into his ear and was responded by a small nod. He looked at me with a smirk and looked down at the table. Shortly, the waiter returned with two trays. On the one sat two cakes and the other a plate with a small box surrounded by pink flowers. The waiter handed us each a slice of the double chocolate cheesecake drizzled in white fudge and then placed the plate with the box in front of me. Once he walked away, Pedro spoke up, "Open it." He said with a large grin on his face and his little chuckle. I carefully picked the box up and opened it. Inside lay a necklace with a silver seashell encasing a blue orb with black swirls inside. "You didn't" I said beginning to tear up. " went back and picked it up the day we first met, I had held out hope it would come in handy."
Once we were finished our deserts, the waiter came and gave us the bill and we were off not too long after that. We went for a walk along the deck where we had had our first date and we talked some more. We locked arms as we began our stroll. "So," I asked, "what has you on this ship?" He thought for a second and replied, "Adventure, excitement, I don't know I guess it was just something new." He looked down at me and asked the same question, "What about you?" He asked,
"What brings you on the ship?" I stopped and looked over the side out over the water. The moon was large and full and It reflected over the waves like the glimmer in my heart. " won the ticket from a raffle at work. Nothing too exciting, but I guess I thought of it as a fresh start for the summer." I let out a sigh and continued, " haven't had a break in forever." I looked up into Pedro's eyes. "This makes all the wait worth it." We continued to lock eyes when Pedro put his right arm behind my back. His hand was soft against my exposed back and it sent excited shivers up my spine. He grabbed my right hand with his left and we began to dance to the soft jazz music playing from the restaurant. We spun and waltzed across the deck under the light of a thousand stars and a bright beaming moon when he spun me under his arm and brought me into a dip. He looked deep into my eyes and pulled me closer. Our lips locked and we began to kiss, his lips were so very soft as the caressed my face and when we pulled apart, he brought me up, I stood wrapped in his arms for the rest of our evening together.
I woke up the next morning to a knock at the door,
"Are you decent?" Pedro's voice called. He walked in after I acknowledged his question and continued, "| hope I'm not intruding but I just wanted to come see you before I leave for my shift." I stood up and made a request, "Let's go out for a morning stroll on B deck." He agreed and I quickly went to go get straightened up. Fifteen minutes later we were out the door and on the deck. My hand was clasped firmly against his and I held his arm with my other hand. He wasn't wearing a shirt because his shift was soon. "Why don't we go on one of the pool floats?" He suggested. He grabbed my hand and led me onto the inflatable. He climbed on and we payed on together looking up at the mid day sky. "Look!" he exclaimed, pointing up towards the clouds. "It's a bear." I squinted for a bit and quickly noticed the shape he was describing " Oh wow." I said. "And look over there, it looks sort of like a telephone." He giggled and then looked around peacefully at the clouds. I looked over at his face, his eyes filled with pure joy. He looked down and at my face and we gazed into each other's eyes. He was dreamy as ever with his soft beard growing in now, he hadn't shaved it since we boarded. His short wavy locks of hair curled softly around his fingers as he propped himself up on one elbow. "I've got another one." He pointed directly at me and said, "I found my heart"
Slay Jean you go girlboss
Ps I copy pasted this from my photos and I'm too lazy to proof read so yas
Pps I just read it and fixed some spelling mistakes BUT ITS SO GOOD SLAY YAS QUEEN YOU GO JEAN