100 Years Between Us

Chapter 3

FINN (Titanic; April 11-12 1912)

Finn stared at the pretty girl looking down at her dress until the elevator doors closed. He leaned against the wall and tried to picture her face again; her fair skin, grey eyes like storm clouds gathering above the sea. Her hair had been dripping with water and her dress had been torn, yet she didn't seem upset about it, as most girls of her class would have been. He stepped out of the elevator and started walking towards his stateroom.

He stopped as he reached the door, turned, and ran to the stairs. He knew by her dress that she was a first class passenger, but where she stayed, he had no idea.

Finn ran down one hall, trying to place his feet quietly so he wouldn't disturb any of the other passengers. No girl. Finn ran across the hall; still no girl. Finn ran down the stairs to the next level, almost running into a man. "Sorry, sir," Finn called as he continued to run. He once again ran up and down the hallways, still not finding the girl.

Where could she be? Finn headed back down the stairs to his level and walked to his stateroom once he decided to find her in the morning. 

He walked in and felt relief laying down on the bed. He stared at the ceiling and thought about the girl, hoping to keep her picture in his memory as long as possible. He didn't understand what drew him to her so easily, it was almost as if she had cast a spell on his mind, and made him want to hold her in his arms and never let go.

He drifted off to sleep, imagining holding her close to him as he slept.

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Finn woke in his wet clothes from the night before, remembering all that had happened. He had been running to the elevators and crashed into someone. The girl! She ought to be up by now. Finn jumped up out of bed, changed into dry clothes, and hurried out the door.

Finn ran to the top deck and looked around. The girl wasn't anywhere in sight. Finn pushed through the crowd, looking all around. He caught sight of a familiar face.

"Ruby!" Finn called out. The girl turned towards him and started walking. "Hello, Finn," she replied. Finn prepared himself for whatever her boyfriend might have in store as he always seemed to be watching Ruby.

She frowned. "You seem tense. Are you okay?" Finn glanced around himself nervously. She laughed. "Oh, Ben isn't coming to get you. I ended things with him after the way he treated you."

Finn relaxed and nodded. "Thanks. Have you seen a girl with brown hair and grey eyes anywhere recently?" Ruby smiled. "I think I know who you're talking about. She's in the reading and writing room. If she isn't there then she probably went over to the lounge area."

"Thanks, Ruby," Finn walked around a corner and sprinted down to the reading and writing room. He snuck into the room and looked around. He looked around, but only saw men. Finn walked around a corner, and sitting in a chair writing was the girl he had met the night before. Her hair was still damp from the rain, but she had put a new dress on. This one was pale yellow, and a matching ribbon was in her hair.

Finn took a step forward but stopped. What was he supposed to do? The girl got up and started walking out of the room. Finn slid around the corner and followed her as silently as possible.

Finn snuck out of the room after her and followed her to the elevators. To Finn's surprise, she started walking down the stairs. Well, this is much easier than expected... The girl stopped after a couple floors and walked to one of the hallways. Finn followed behind her, careful to stay out of her sight or get too close.

She stopped at room B-8 and unlocked the door. Finn turned and ran down the hall once she was inside and had closed the door. He ran up to the writing room, wrote a quick note, and ran down towards the girl's room. Her door started to open, so Finn slipped quietly into an open closet. She passed by and walked out towards the elevators. Finn folded the note and crept from the closet. He had grabbed some string from the closet and tied the note to the door before turning and walking back towards the stairs. He walked up to the top deck and walked towards the men playing a card game.

"Back again, eh? Come on, I'll deal you in," one of the men said as he walked up. Finn sat down next to a young man with a moustache.

"Nice moustache," Finn said. The man chuckled before patting the spot beside him. Another man handed Finn a few cards, who started playing glad to have a distraction. 

A hand grabbed his shoulder. "Excuse me, sir, but I think we should talk."