Titanic [STEFAN SALVATORE]

Chapter Six

"No, I have not seen him." He merely replied. The sudden noise of a crowd of people made Margaret turn around to face the hallway. There were people walking out of their suites, speaking to themselves and then heading out to the main stair case. Curious, Margaret followed them.

Her heartbeat beat a little bit faster from excitement. What could it be? Why was there a crowd gathering? She kept following the crowd past the main staircase and out to the deck. There, the crowd stopped. Margaret titled her head, trying to better see. She walked further into the crowd, pushing past people, uttering apologies.

"Miss, please step back," an officer said.

Margaret was stunned into place. She looked at the bodies on the deck and felt the fruit she'd eaten earlier come up. Some of the bodies were as pale as a white sheet of paper while others were purple. And some, well some, had a leg or an arm seemingly eaten by an animal. Margaret stepped away and found Thomas.

She clutched his arm, feeling light headed. "Thomas—" she began and stopped. "What if papa...what if papa...what if he—"

Thomas didn't deny it. He didn't try to reassure her and tell her that her father wasn't among those bodies. Nor did he discard the possibility the same had happened to him. Instead, he lead her back inside. He lead her towards the cafe where Margaret had seen her mother earlier. As it turned out, her mother was still there, her food still untouched, her lips sealed.

"Mother," Margaret's voice cracked. "Bodies were found. Some of them had been mostly eaten by the animals. You don't think the same thing could have happened to papa, do you?"

Alice ignored her words and instead turned to Thomas. "What are they saying about this Thomas? Did these people accidentally fall or where they murdered, their bodies dumped in the ocean?"

"I don't think that many people would accidentally fall from a ship, Alice," Thomas said. There was a new found confidence in Thomas she hadn't realized sooner. It was a looming presence. It was real and strong, and somehow, Margaret got the feeling he knew something she didn't.

SHE formed a knuckle with her hand and knocked on Stefan's suite. She wasn't sure she'd recall where his suite was as she had only been here once before but the only way to find out if she was at the correct place or not, was by knocking. And so she waited. She knocked once more after a long moment but no reply came.

She had come prepared for this moment. She had written Stefan a note. In the note, she talked about the murders and about the strange feeling she'd gotten regarding Thomas. She asked for his help to search for her father and to reveal Thomas' secret. The latter, she wrote was optional. Slipping the note under his door, Margaret turned to leave.

Stefan stood in the hall, making Margaret gasp, her hand going up to her chest as though she could protect it. Stefan titled his head slightly, a questioning expression on his face. Margaret opened her mouth to speak, closed it and gave up. How long had it been since she last saw him? It felt like a long time. Seeing him standing there made her heartbeat quicken.

"What are you—" Stefan trailed off, waving his hand, not finishing his own sentence. Margaret thought he was being specially cold today but didn't point it out. He walked past her, and unlocked his suite. She stood for a moment and said nothing.

He turned around. His eyes seemed to be changing colors and expressions, as though he was trying to stop himself from committing an action but he simply couldn't help himself any longer. Or perhaps, didn't want to. He took a step forward, closing the distance between them. They were now chests to chests, the tips of their noses touching.

Margaret could be happy there forever, touching but not touching. She could live with this. But their lips were so close...so close. Stefan looked at her lips, at the expectation and innocence in her eyes. He wanted to touch her, to get so lost in a moment with her he forgot all about the things he'd done. She held in her breath as they meet, their lips colliding.