Glacier AU

Regret

(Cole's P.O.V.)

  I am such a fool. Why did I say that to Zane last night? I offended him; I made it seem like I didn't like him. 

  "Cole, are you feeling fine?" Clarissa inquired as she fastened her corset tightly around her waist.

  "Um, yes, I am-"

  "That is good, so what was the surprise you had planned for me?" She interrupted me and turned around.

  "Uh..." my mind went completely blank, not being able to muster up any form of an excuse.

  "Unless you desire it to remain a secret?"

  "Yes, it is a secret, I am going to go check on it," I grabbed my coat and walked out of the room nervously.

  Where would Zane be at this hour? I must find him to apologize for what happened last night, I cannot let him think I do not care for him. 

  However, what if he is not interested in me like I hoped? Maybe he thought I didn't like hanging out with the lower-class... to have thought, I had my hopes up for him to like me back.

  "Cole, nice to see you again," Jay greeted me once I entered the bar the party was in last night.

  "Oh, you are still here?"

  "Yes, I am waiting for Zane to wake up before we head back up to our room." I felt a small pang of jealousy. Right, he shares a room with Jay. They are probably in a relationship instead...

  "What do you mean, 'wake up'?"

  "Last night, I found him passed out with some of the ship engineers you met. According to Lloyd, he had a bit too much to drink." Jay elaborated with the shake of his head.

  Did he get drunk? I never expected that, I thought in surprise.

  "Um, can you tell him to meet me at the stern after dinner? I want to talk to him about what happened last night," I admitted.

  Jay raised his eyebrows,  "What happened last night?"

  "Uh, it is nothing, but thank you for passing on the message," I stated before running off.

  Why am I apologizing? Maybe that was a mistake, but he might be upset if I do not show up. Wait... he might not show up either... why am I even trying... I stopped walking on the edge of the ship and leaned against the railing, the only thing I felt at that moment was regret.

  This was a mistake... maybe I should have- no, I should stop saying 'maybe' and start taking action.

  I am going to do it tonight. I am going to tell him the truth, and I do not fear the consequences anymore.

(Zane's P.O.V.)

  I woke up with an enormous migraine. Ugh... wh-what happened last night? I tried to recall what occurred, but all that came up was Cole saying he didn't want to be seen with me. Right... and I had thought he could like me back.

  "Good morning, Zane," Jay greeted before sliding a glass of water in my direction.

  "What transpired last night after Cole parted?"

  "You drank a bit more than usual, but nothing befell," Jay stated, reassuring me.

  "Oh... I should be more cautious in the future," I replied with a nod before taking a sip of water.

  "Also, Cole wanted to talk to you after dinner at the stern," he admitted, causing me to choke on my water.

  I coughed a bit,  "W-what? Why does he want to talk to me?"

  "Zane, you cannot always be this guarded and afraid, he might share the same feelings as you," Jay whispered to me.

  "No," I shook my head,  "he doesn't. He made that quite clear last night,"

  "What did occur last night that led you to drink that much?"

  "Um..." Jay is my best friend, he will understand,  "He s-said he didn't want to be seen with me."

  Jay stood up and spun around towards the door before walking out.

  "Where are you going?"

  "To beat up this boy!"

  I have to stop myself from laughing before chasing after him and grabbing him by the arm. He tried to resist, but I maintained a firm grasp on him.

  "It is fine, I will meet him later and talk to him,"

  "What did this boy say exactly?" Jay inquired, calming down a bit.

  "He said that he wanted to get back inside before anyone in the upper-class would see him," I elaborated.

  Jay stared at me,  "You are so dense." He shook his head before laughing.

  "What do you mean?" I tilted my head to the side slightly in confusion.

  "Zane, he didn't want to be seen with you for an obvious reason: he likes you but fears if someone catches him with you, Clarissa would have a fit. If he didn't like you, he would have just told off the distress of his fiancée. He is quite ignorant as well, I can tell." Jay said, his explanation not clearing anything up for me.

  "How can you be sure? What if he was truly embarrassed to be seen with me?"

  "If he was, he would not have come to the party. For it to be true, he would not have asked you to meet him in public." Jay stated with the shake of his head.

  "But-"

  "Zane, go see him tonight,"

  Finally, I obliged.

----------------------------

  I stood by the edge of the boat nervously, fearing the worse. What if he called me to tell me to stop interacting with him because it threatened his social standings? What if he made me come here to make a fool of myself?

  "Oh, Zane, you're here!" I turned around and saw a genuinely surprised Cole standing behind me.

  "Did you expect me not to come?" I presumed the same as well.

  "I thought you were still angry about what I said last night,"

  "Oh... I am fine now, but I do desire to know if you were embarrassed to be seen with me, or that was an impulsive comment." 

  "To be honest, I didn't mean it the way it was perceived. You see, my father is very strict about me interacting with any people 'below' me, and I feared he would stop me from seeing you." His answer warmed my heart, causing me to smile.

  "I apologize if that was regarded as anything else,"

  "No, it is fine,"

  We stood there awkwardly after, not knowing what to say to each other anymore. Eventually, we both came up with the courage to say something.

  "I- no, you go first," we both blushed and turned away in unison.

  "You called me here, what is it you want to say?"

  Cole paused before taking a deep breath,  "I-"

(A/N: Hey! Sorry for the long wait, I've been pretty busy with school and exams. I promise I'll be more frequent with updates. Hopefully, this chapter isn't too rush or bad in any way)