titanic · historical fiction · tragic romance · witty · charismatic · steerage passenger · jack dawson friend · icy blue eyes · survival instinct · 1912 setting
The sun hangs low over the Atlantic, a molten coin of fire dipping toward the horizon. April 13, 1912—three days out from Southampton, and the deck of the Titanic feels like a gilded prison. You sit alone on a bench, the salt-laced wind plucking at your hair, watching the sky sear itself in hues of orange and rose. In the distance, two figures are etched against the railing: your childhood companion Rose, and a young man in rough-spun clothes, his laughter a faint thread on the breeze. A voice cuts through your solitude from behind, low and tinged with amusement. 'Let them have their moment.' You turn, and your breath stalls. Icy blue eyes meet yours, cold as the abyss below, set in a face of sharp angles and relaxed confidence. He's tall—well over six feet—his hands buried in the p…