Hey, readers! A quick author's note here: I know I haven't been the most diligent updater, but I promise that I have not given up on ANY of my stories! I'll be updating "Falling Rose Petals" and "Broken Reflections" (which I've been re-editing) in the next two weeks. I know it's a long time, but finals are coming up, and this weekend is just packed! It's my birthday today... And I'd love it if you guys took the poll on my profile! It's been up there since, what, September? Oh, and one more announcement:

Are YOU a fan of HARRY POTTER and TITANIC? Then I've got the story for you! My friend and I are writing a Titanic/Harry Potter fan fiction on our account, Double Obsession! Look us up, if you please!

To the Stars

By Lady Elena Dawson

Disclaimer: I do not own Titanic (1997).

"Okay, your turn."

Rose giggled as we continued the grueling way back up to the first-class cabins. We had had to pass through two gates already, locked as though the steerage below were animals. Right now we were in the process of escaping the second-class stairwell. I cringed at the sight, but was quickly slapped out of these thoughts by Rose's giddy laughter.

We had approached the stairs when, with the cheap alcohol coursing through my veins, I poked Rose in the shoulder and started to do an Irish jig. The idea was so sudden and so ridiculous, to see the large grin on Rose's laughing face made me smile from ear to ear. We had already competed in a game like this in the third-class party, and even though she won, I wasn't ready to give up just yet. Being of Irish descent myself, my mind had uncomprehendingly pulled out a whole new dance my father had taught me back home in Wisconsin.

"In a minute," Rose snickered, and I could tell by her shaky hands she was anxious about going back. When she rose her hand up to pull out a pin from her gleaming red curls, I caught a glimpse of the large diamond ring on her left hand. The whole night I had completely forgotten of who Rose was and where she came from; it was just me and her, dancing and drinking the night away.

She started to fumble with the lock, her blue-green eyes glancing back and forth to make sure no crew member was there. We heard the lock click, and she jokingly whispered, "Go, go, go!" as I dashed through the open gate, her hand brushing my shoulder as she wove it around.

We finally reached the deck, which had black canvas full of bright stars. The crisp April air left my breath suspended faintly, but thankfully it wasn't that cold. I watched as the fire that had been erupting inside Rose slowly started to fade, her smile faltering. Her expression completely crumbled as the sign, "First-Class Entrance," became visible.

For once, I didn't know what to say. I brushed aside a lock of my dirty-blond hair, watching her as she took a deep breath and wiped her palms on her expensive dress, a beer stain from before having stained the rich color. An emotion I could not name reflected off her beautiful, sad eyes.

She shivered, so I took my jacket off and put it around her shoulders, my hands lingering for just a minute longer than necessary. "I don't want to go back," she finally said, a sad smile appearing on her face. She resembled an elegant swan with a devastatingly broken wing longing to fly again.

She turned around and her eyes met mine, and the way the starlight lit up her porcelain face made the breath catch in my throat. I was suddenly driven into a panic attack, my heart racing wildly. Here was this amazing, astounding, beautiful woman, and I desperately wanted her to know how much I cared. How, if she asked, I'd take her away from her rich life; and how, if she wanted, I'd kiss her right then and there. I blushed, hoping my feelings didn't give away in my vulnerable eyes.

"Jack -" she started, when suddenly an idea flashed in my mind. I grinned boyishly. Taking her hands, I guided her away from the door, making sure no windows were in sight. Our only company was the stars and a crewman washing the deck.

Pulling her a little closer, I whispered, "I know how we could delay that a little longer." Then I grasped her hands tightly and started to twirl her around. Her face lit up and she let out a loud laugh, throwing her head back.

"Jack!" she exclaimed, but she trusted me. "Don't!"

I twirled her around a little bit more, whooping and enjoying her laugh. I eventually stopped and put my hand on her hip as she put hers on my shoulder, and we started to dance crazily around the deck.

As her eyes lifted from their dreary sadness, once again our worries disappeared. There was no judgement when it came to money or class, and there certainly wasn't a law against it. It was just me and Rose, being silly as we had been since we met, and I could still remember when I first took her hand and pulled her back over the railing.

"Jack Dawson."

"Rose DeWitt Bukater."

"You're going to have to write that one down."

And then she had laughed, her eyes wet from desperate tears, and it was the first time I had ever seen such a lovely smile.

We were the two young people with big artistic dreams, not the steerage boy and the wealthy girl. And so we had started our journey to the stars, a place we both longed to be. For there, we will never be ruled, and our forbidden relationship would never have to face any obstacle.

It was then that I realized I loved her. And with that, her red curls glowing in the light, I locked away the precious memories we shared. For, as much as I didn't want it to be true, I could always lose her by the hands of society.

"Promise me you'll take me to one of those more often!" Rose said happily, laughing in her joy.

And so, as I feel the frigid water surround me, I remember that moment for what it was: a moment of realization and of promises. I felt her numb hand grasping on to mine, and the last thing I saw that night before the life was wiped out of my eyes was Rose's face, laughing and smiling, as I twirled her around that deck, never wanting to let her go.