Chapter Text
I watched listlessly as the room around me begin to fill with some of the dirtiest, poorest, most uncouth people I had ever seen in my life. An after-dinner "shindig" was about to commence, evidently a third class passenger ritual – and a ritual I'd rather have skipped, were it not for a little less-than-gentle coaxing from my roommate.
My name is Aimee Satterfield, and after spending twenty of my twenty-one years among proper society, I "became" one of these ruffians. The very caste of society I had previously shunned, mocked, and avoided all throughout childhood and adolescence, I was now a part of. Maybe fate was trying to teach me a lesson, or maybe life was just unpredictable this way. At any rate, I blamed it on my selfish father who squandered everything we had and died leaving us nothing. Mother took us to England to see if assistance could be found in her estranged sister, but after that proved futile, there was nowhere else to turn. That's when Mother became ill and died as well... and in a month's time I was on my way back to America, by way of the RMS Titanic, to think on what to do next.
I would have been pleased to stay in my room to do my thinking, but unfortunately I found myself rooming with, among others, a certain Keely O'Donnell – a bold Irish girl who had taken it upon herself to introduce me to her less than savory lot of friends who seemed to take high pleasure in doing the mundane. Tonight, it was sitting in the large common area listening to drums and fiddles while a thick knot of drunks set about dancing and arm wrestling. I had been treated to the same performance last evening as well, which was our first aboard the Titanic.
How I craved genteel conversation over proper tea with a handful of civilized ladies concerning literature. I doubted anyone here would know what a book was.
"Aimee!" Keely shouted above the din, not missing a beat with her clapping. "Find a lad to dance with, go on!"
"I'd rather watch."
"What?!"
I leaned forward, raising my voice a hair. "I said I'd rather watch!"
"Ah, 'course," she smirked with twinkling eyes. "Okay then, at least one of us should go have fun." With that, Keely stood up and bounded off to the dance floor. I heaved a sigh and pushed the untouched beer away from me, opting to watch the clock. Before long I realized I was twirling my hair again. My mother had detested the habit, but when a girl's uncomfortable and needing to fidget, there isn't much else proper to do.
I'm not sure how long I sat there musing before suddenly two brawny arms appeared out of nowhere and hoisted me up. I shrieked as I felt my chair come out from underneath me, and looked about furiously to see who was responsible. A merry-faced, curly haired not-so-gentleman was chuckling at my dismay, beginning to carry me against his broad chest toward the dance floor.
"Wait! What are you doing? Unhand me-!" I began, but my words didn't seem to have any effect. I caught sight of Keely's laughter over my shoulder, as well as that of a couple of her male friends. I should have known she likely had a hand in this mischief.
The fellow set me down once he reached the middle of the floor, but didn't give me any time to flee as he took my hands and promptly began to lead me into a spirited mess of a dance.
The music seemed to become louder, the laughing more raucous, and the close contact dizzying as I was twirled around by this stranger on a rough plank dance floor, every so often catching sight of Keely stood off to the side, looking ridiculous with such a grin on her face.
Perhaps it was the sight of my zealous dance partner's unruly hair flopping about his head as his moves whipped up into a spirited frenzy, or maybe it was because the entire thing was so ridiculous, but after a moment , I unwittingly began to laugh through my irritation.
I remembered my anger all too quickly, though, when the short dance came to a close. The gentleman holding me finally let go to give an exaggerated bow, giving me a quirky grin as he then stood up straight. "Tommy Ryan, Lass," He held out his hand, and I could tell from his lilting brogue that I was talking to an Irishman.
I felt my cheeks grow warm with embarrassment. "You brute! How dare you behave that way!"
Unscathed, he gently took my arm to lead me back to my table. "Ahh, we were only havin' a bit of fun with you. Don't yeh see yeh need to lighten up? We've nearly a week on this ship, might as well wipe that sour frown off yer face."
I pulled away from him. "And if I'm to be in your presence for more than a week, the least you can do is keep your hands to yourself!"
Ignoring the guffaws coming from the men surrounding myself and Mr. Ryan, I turned to go back to my room.
"Aimee? Aimee, wait!" I heard Keely call behind me, but didn't care. I turned a couple corners and ventured down the narrow hallways, completely lost before I knew it. "Drat..." I grumbled, stopping to think.
I had no idea why I'd become so rattled at the man who obviously meant no harm, beginning to feel just slightly guilty before justifying my actions in reminding myself I was still navigating an environment I still wasn't comfortable in.
Keely should have known better than that to play such a prank ...
"Excuse me, Miss? Is everything okay?"
I looked up suddenly, my eyes catching onto a pair of vivid green eyes framed by a boyish face.
"... Yes, I'm fine. Thank you."
Perhaps sensing my frustration, the young man only nodded and continued on.
"Wait," I called back. "Would you happen to know how I can get to 34B?"
He paused, turning around. "Sure. Straight down the hall, hang a left, then another left, and a right. The hall with one broken wall light already, can't miss it. By the way... Jack Dawson." He gave a friendly smile.
"Thank you," I replied, and would have simply gone on to find my room, but the unfriendly front I'd been wielding all week was beginning to wear on me. This gentleman looked kind enough to be amicable to. "I'm Aimee. Aimee Satterfield."
"Nice to have ya with us, Aimee," Jack smiled, and turned to go the opposite direction.
I sighed, getting the feeling this was not going to turn out to be the uneventful journey I'd hoped for.
But I hadn't the first idea just how right I would turn out to be.