Rose Dewitt Bukater stood outside the lit building, feeling great trepidation. She had been inside the building a number of times, but this time…the event she was attending was something quite different. It was a getting to know you dance between the students of White Star Academy and JFK High. Over the past two years, White Star Academy had been struck with financial problems. Finally, during the summer of this year, they were forced to declare bankruptcy and shut down, causing the parents and students to make other plans for their kids. JFK, the local public school chose that time to draw in more wealthier students by allowing parents to tour the school premises. Most of the parents found the school acceptable and had enrolled their teens into the high school and to welcome the new students, the high school administration rented out a ballroom in one of the city's high rises and threw a get to know you dance for the new students and the old. An attempt to get the teens to get to know one another and make the transition even smoother. Rose was one of the students transferring to JFK and she couldn't be more nervous.

Yet, that wasn't the only reason that she was filled with nerves. Caledon Hockley, her now former boyfriend was going to be there…former boyfriend/rapist. He too with a number of their group of friends have been transferred over and everyone was meeting at the dance. Rose didn't want to go. She had told no one of what Cal had done to her the weekend before, knowing that they wouldn't believe her. Cal was the most popular boy in White Star Academy and everyone admired and thought the best of him. No one knew of the monster he really was and how Rose had lived in terror for the last few months that she had the misfortune of dating him. He was emotionally abusive and handled her roughly, but never had she thought that he was capable of what he had done to her and now here she was, after a week of avoiding him, about to enter a function where he was sure to be. She wouldn't have come if her best friend Madeline hadn't begged her to attend, not wanting to be without her best friend when going to a dance with other students that she didn't know.

In a way, she was thankful that White Star Academy had closed, that her crowd would no longer be in charge, but that still didn't make the fact that she was raped and that Caledon was too powerful to pay for what he had done any better.

Maybe she wasn't giving her friends the benefit of the doubt? Maybe, just maybe they would side with her and now that they're in a new school, it'd be easier to ostracize Cal. Maybe she should just tell them and somehow begin the healing process instead of just hiding herself away from the people who cared about her. Gathering up her courage, she decided to stop underestimating her friends and maybe even believe the best of them. She was going to go in there, pull them to the side and tell them what Cal did to her. It was time to take her life back.

She stepped inside the building to be greeted with some popular music and the sound of teenagers talking amongst themselves. She looked around and noticed that there was a definite divide between the White Star teens and the JFK teens. She glanced over at the JFK side of the room and gasped when her eyes met a pair of intense blue eyes that just drew her in. She blinked and realized that the eyes belonged to a strikingly handsome boy with shaggy blonde hair. There was something about him that just drew her. Looking into those eyes, she almost forgot about Cal's attack and the fear that her friends would turn their backs on her. Those eyes, they made her feel as if everything was going to be alright.

She's about to walk over to the boy when the spell is broken by the sound of her name being called.

"Rose! Yoohoo! Over here! Rose!" Madeline Astor waved to her and beckoned for her to join the White Star group.

Rose looked at Madeline, then glanced back at the JFK crowd to find that the boy with the intense blue eyes was no longer in sight. Sighing, she walked over to her friends, wondering what had happened to the boy and would she see him again or if he was even real in the first place.

"Where were you off to, Rose? Surely not to their side of the room," Constance Rothes snorted, eying the JFK side derisively.

"Well, we are supposed to be getting to know them. That is the whole point of this function, isn't it?" Rose questioned, her eyes still searching the JFK side for the boy with the eyes.

"We all the know what the real point is. To take a look at the lower class and remind ourselves that we're still above them, despite the closure of our school and being forced to attend school with them. I mean look at their clothes. So two years ago," Madeline snorted.

Rose rolled her eyes at the comments. Sometimes she wondered why she even hung out with these people. They were so shallow and narrow-minded. She had nothing what so ever in common with them, yet here she was terrified of them turning against her in favor of Cal.

"Oh did you hear about that Annabelle Watson?" Constance asked, her voice tinged with glee, something it only reached when she had a piece of juicy gossip.

"Oooh, I haven't heard of her in ages!" Madeline gasped. "Whatever happened to her?"

"Her mother sent her away. She kept insisting that poor Cal had attacked her. They had only gone on one date according to Cal and he never laid a hand on her. He said the girl was deranged. So embarrassed, her mother sent her to a psyche ward and rightfully so. What proper girl would accuse poor Cal of such a thing. He is such a gentleman."

"Of course, in fact, aren't you dating him Rose? Surely if anyone would know what Cal is truly like, it would be you," Madeline studied her friend who seemed to have turned a sick shade of green. "Rose?"

There it was. The proof right there that her friends would side with Cal and not her. Poor Cal, such a gentleman. He would never harm the hair on a poor girl's head. It had to be the girl's fault. There's no other way about it.

"Rose? You are dating Cal, right?" Madeline repeated the question, thinking that Rose hadn't heard her.

"We broke up," was Rose's flat reply, her whole world filling like it was spinning out of control.

"What? When did that happen? Why?" Madeline stared in total shock.

"Have you gone mad? Why ever would you break up with Cal? You were one of the lucky girls to catch his attention, you silly goose!" Constance gasped.

Lucky? They thought that she was lucky to catch Cal's attention, that she was silly for not staying in what was a toxic relationship. Proof again of who's side they were going to be on. She was falling apart inside and she had no one to turn to, no one to help her. Only people who thought she was lucky to have even caught the attention of the monster that caused her so much pain.

"Pardon me," She excused herself, barely able to contain the hurt and rage that filled her. She walked away from her so called friends and found the girls restroom that was thankfully empty. She leaned against one of the sinks and glared at her reflection. Red hair pulled up into a cascade of curls, porcelain skin and red lips…everything that was considered beautiful and captured the attention of Caledon Hockley. Everything that had turned her life into a nightmare. She hated it. She hated it all!

Sobbing with pent up rage, she ripped at the pins that held her hair together, sending her long red hair down in a cascade over her shoulders. Her perfectly done make up was now ruined thanks to her flowing tears. She couldn't do it! She couldn't live like this! This terrible secret eating up at her insides, destroying her, and with her having no where to turn. Her life was effectively over, so why was she even here? Why was she even trying to pick up the pieces when all the pieces were all shattered and no one even bothered to try to pick them up again. Not her parents, not her friends. She was all alone, with no one to turn to. No one to help her hold it all together. There was just no point in trying anymore.

Hot tears poured from her eyes as she fled the restroom. She ran past the JFK students, one goal on her mind. She ran past the banquet table, past the bench where the boy she had noticed earlier now sat drawing in his portfolio, and ran to the balcony that looked over the city.

She looked down onto the busy street so far below. The fall down there would end it all. All of her pain,. Her hopelessness. The wreck that her life had become. With trembling hands, she gripped the railing and climbed over. Her hands clung to the railing as she looked down, contemplating her last move. She had to wonder what will everyone think? Will they even care? Would they be glad? One less girl to accuse their Caledon of the horrors he had committed? A new subject for them to gossip about? No one would miss her, that was for sure. They hadn't even noticed what a mess she was, not her mother and not her friends. She had been screaming at the top of her lungs and no one had looked up. No one had even noticed or even cared. This was all she had, all she could do to end the pain. She closed her eyes, ready to let go. She was ready to jump…

"Don't do it."

…..

Jack Dawson had been sitting quietly on the bench he had discovered, away from all the music and noise that his classmates were so involved in. After making eye contact with the prettiest girl he's ever seen, he became inspired and decided to find somewhere quiet to draw her in the portfolio he carried everywhere, even here to a school function, something that his friends had laughed at him about.

"How do you expect to dance with anyone if you have that thing with you Jack?" His best friend Fabrizio had asked on their way to the dance.

Frankly, Jack hadn't expected to dance with anyone. None of the girls at their school had captured his attention really. In fact, the girl from the White Star side of the room was the first girl to have ever awakened his muse. He had no choice but to try to capture her on paper. There was something about her. Something that spoke of beauty, sadness, and tragedy. Everything that a artist worth his salt should be able to capture on paper.

He was just starting on her face when he heard the sound of sobbing and a flash of red and black pass by him. He frowned. That was weird. Why would anyone be crying? There was a party going on inside. Curious, and wondering if there was anything he could do to help, Jack stood up and headed in the direction of the sobbing girl. It didn't take long to find her. All he could see was that the girl was in a red and black sequined dress and hand red hair that was blowing in the wind and to his horror, she was standing on the wrong side of the railing, clinging to the rails, ready to jump, or at least contemplating it. Fuck, this was bad. There was probably no time to go get help,which meant that if this girl was to be saved, he was going to have to do the saving.

Wishing that he had a cigarette, he slowly approached the railing, not wanting to startle the girl into letting go. "Don't do it."

The girl whipped her head around at the sound of his voice and he couldn't help but gasp in dismay. It was the girl he had seen earlier. His muse. The pain, despair, and pure hopelessness in her eyes, it made his heart hurt. What had happened to this girl to make her feel like there were no other options than this?

"Stay back! Don't come any closer!" The girl commanded, tears at the very edge of her voice.

Jack saw the tracks of tears in her make up. Slowly he held out his hand, hoping that she would take it. "Take my hand. I'll pull you back over."

"No! Stay back. I mean it. I'll let go."

There was something else in her eyes. What was it? Fear? Maybe she was rethinking her choice to end her life. Whatever it was. Maybe he could use it.

"No you won't."

The girl narrowed her eyes, now angry. "What do you mean no I won't? Don't presume to tell me what I will and will not do. You don't know me."

"You would have done it all ready. Now come on, take my hand."

…..

Rose then recognized him. He was the boy she saw earlier. The boy with the intense blue eyes. She almost hadn't recognized him through her tears, which she wiped away, almost losing her balance.

"You're distracting me. Go away."

"I can't. I'm involved now. If you let go, I'm going to have to jump right after you."

Rose stared at him as if he had lost his mind. Jump right after her? Like that would help any. "Don't be absurd. You'd be killed."

"Maybe. Or maybe I'd be fast enough to catch you, but it'd be a lot harder pulling you back over with both of us on the wrong side, don't you think? Or maybe I think I'm Clark Kent and can fly and just maybe catch you as you fall, but would you really want to take that chance?"

Now he was being funny. She could see the amusement of his own joke in his eyes. "You're crazy."

"That's what everyone says. But with all due respect, Miss. I'm not the one hanging off of the balcony of a skyscraper here. Come on, take my hand. You don't want to do this. Whatever it is, it's not worth your life."

"My life? It's over anyway. You have no idea what's happened to me, why I'm doing this…"

"Well then inform me. Let me help you back over and we can go somewhere and you can tell me all about it. Just the two of us. Just don't do this. Don't take your own life. I know it's cliché, but things will get better, if you'll just give it a chance."

Rose couldn't help but laugh at this. He knew nothing of her situation. He didn't know what had happened to her and that there was no solution because no one would believe her anyway. She shook her head. "No they won't."

"Well, if they don't, change your name, leave town, reinvent yourself. Just don't do this. Don't kill yourself. Whatever or whoever is the cause of this, they're not worth it and you won't be hurting them. You'd only be hurting yourself and the people that love you. Please, let me help you back over."

The people that loved her? Her mother Ruth, she loved her in her own way even though he was much too busy to pay attention to her. Her father could care less now that he had a new family,but there was Trudy, the daughter of their maid. She was Rose's friend and she had been so excited at the thought of her and Rose going to the same school now. She had talked all weekend about introducing her to people. If Rose did this, she'd be so hurt and sad. She was probably the only person that would openly mourn her and no matter what, Rose just couldn't do that to her. Sniffling, she turned around and accepted the boy's outstretched hand.

His smile was one of relief. He really had been worried for her.

"Jack Dawson," He smiled.

"Rose Dewitt Bukater," Rose sniffed.

"I'll have to get you to write that one down for me," He smiled.

She couldn't help but laugh at the joke. Her name was rather long.

"Come on. I'll help you."

Jack wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her back over the railing. She clung to him with trembling fingers and made the mistake of looking down over the railing. Fear and dizziness struck her that hadn't before. Thankfully, she was on the right side of the balcony, in the arms of Jack. She gasped and nearly collapsed against him as her legs gave out. He gently lowered her down into a setting position, turned away from the long drop below.

"It's alright. You're safe now, it's alright," He reassured her, keeping his arms around her shoulders.

Rose sniffed, rubbing the tears from her eyes. She didn't know why she didn't have the same reaction when she had climbed over the railing, but now that she was safe on the other side and saw just how high she was from the ground, she was terrified and embarrassed for causing such a scene and probably scaring poor Jack to death.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Dawson."

"Jack."

"Jack. I'm sorry for causing you any strife. I just didn't know what to do any longer. It just felt like my life was over and I just wanted it to end," Rose sniffled. She didn't want to go into anything and everything with him, not at this moment anyway. Things were just too fresh, especially to tell a boy she had just met, but his eyes…they made her feel so safe. They told her that he actually cared. But how could he when he didn't even know her. He was just a stranger that didn't want to see a young girl take her life.

"Hey, no harm done. And your life is far from over Rose. I don't know what's happened to cause you to feel so hopeless, but I do know that your life isn't over. It's just beginning. We're only kids, we haven't even begun to live yet," Jack gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze. "It's gonna be alright, just as long at the end of the day, you're still breathing."

"You really think so?" Staring into his eyes, she began to believe him. Maybe he was right after all. Maybe everything will be alright. Maybe her life wouldn't be over. After all, she was starting a new school with new people. No one said that she had to be the same Rose and hang with the same narrow minded, shallow people. She can make new friends. Have a new persona. She just had to do something about the inner turmoil she was in, but outwardly she didn't have to be the same old Rose. The damaged Rose. Jack was the only one that saw her suicide attempt and something told her that he wouldn't tell anyone what had happened.

Jack nodded. "I know so. You know, it must be scary starting a new school, but maybe you should look at it as an opportunity Rose. Just a thought."

Rose nodded, still captivated by his eyes and his other features, like his head full of shiny blond hair. Now that she got a more close up look, she realized that Jack Dawson was the prettiest boy she's ever since in real life. "Thank you Jack. For everything."

"You're welcome Rose. He got to his feet and held his hand out to her. "Ready to go back to the party?"

She swallowed down all her nervousness and took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. She opened her mouth to say yes when she heard a familiar voice that made her blood run cold.

"Sweet Pea said we broke up? Why that is absurd," Caledon Hockley's voice chuckled from inside the crowded dance hall. She shivered, knowing there was no way she could go back out there. Not when he was out there.

Jack frowned when he saw how she shivered and how pale she just got, her eyes widening with what looked like fear. "Hey, are you alright?" He took off his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders, thinking that she might be cold.

Rose shook her head, her hand clinging desperately to Jack's, resisting the urge to freak out again. "I can't go back out there. I have to get out of here."

Jack frowned, not understanding her at all, but he had never been an expert on women. But he did know a scared girl when he saw one and he wasn't about to make her do anything she didn't want to do. "So that's a no to returning to the party, right?"

Rose nodded, not able to use her voice anymore as the flight mechanism began to take over. "I have to get out of here…"

"Ok," Jack looked around and saw the elevators not too far away. There's the elevators right there. You don't have to see anyone. I'll walk you to them if you like."

Rose just nodded, for the first time noticing that Jack's coat was around her shoulders. It gave her strength somehow to hold it together as Jack led her over to the elevators, placing himself between her and the open hallway, effectively hiding her from view.

Jack pushed the down button and kept himself between her and the hall. "Will you be ok going down by yourself? Or do you want me to go with you?"

"I think I'll ok from here," she reluctantly took off his jacket and handed it back to him. "Mr. Daw…Jack, thank you again. You don't know how much you've helped me just now."

"Anytime Rose. Maybe we'll see each other at school."

"I hope so," Rose's smile was sad and at the same time hopeful. She would love to see Jack again, even though she didn't think that he'd really want to hang out with someone as damaged as her. "Good night, Jack."

"Good night, Rose," he stood back as she entered the elevator and watched as the doors closed, hiding her from view and took her down to the garage. He hoped that she would truly be ok from there. Taking a deep breath, he put his jacket back on, retrieved his portfolio and returned to his friends, his mind stuck on Rose and what had just happened.