Out There

[jessewaters]

ediewonders‌:

“That’s the fun part! Anything can happen, it’s an adventure! Which is like the whole point of going on a cruise like this, isn’t it?” Edie grinned, turning around to lean against the railing, and crossed her arms. “Are you always this much of a downer on vacations?”

“Would you believe me if I told you that this is the first time I’ve been out of Alabama, let alone on a vacation that was something other than church camp?” 

Jesse smirked, running a hand through his hair. “I guess I’m just so used to counselors running around at all times, keeping everyone in line.” 

[jessewaters]

zander-francois‌:

Zander raised an eyebrow at the vague reply, suddenly very curious. “Especially when what?” He asked softly. “Whatever it is, if it’s upsetting you, it’s not stupid.” He added, not moving.

“Well...” There was a strange lump forming in Jesse’s throat and he didn’t quite know what to make of it. It wasn’t sadness or anything like that, as far as he could tell, but it had something to do with the fact that this complete stranger seemed to be genuinely worried about what was going on that made him hesitate. 

He cleared his throat.

“This is the first time I’ve done something like this. Alone, I mean. My parents are kind of...” he paused, trying to find the right words. “They’re over protective, to say the least.”

[jessewaters]

alexandra-temple‌:

“I guess, but considering that it’s my first big vacation ever, I feel like I can deal with it for the sake of having fun,” Alex said, before nodding, “But I understand that. It’s hard to turn it off sometimes, so maybe just try to focus on one thing at a time in the now and it’ll get easier?”

Jesse nodded, letting his gaze fall to the ground for a moment. “That’s something my mom would always say - focus on one thing at a time and the answer will make itself clear. Course, that focus is supposed to be on God and not like, something worldly.”

He shrugged, bringing his eyes back up to the woman next to him. “Uhm, I’m Jesse, by the way.”

[jessewaters]

 alexandra-temple‌:

“Do you not like the heat or the humidity?” Alex asked, a little surprised at the words as she wouldn’t have thought to describe anything of it sucking, “Or is it something else?  I think that everything’s been great so far.”

“Well,” he shrugged. “The humidity is pretty intense, I’m not gonna lie. It’s different than home for sure.” 

Jesse shifted his weight, thinking for a minute. What would it hurt to tell this person something? Not like he’d interact with them again after the cruise, right?

“It’s mostly home I’m thinking about, when I said that. Just a lot of stuff there that kind of carried over... and won’t go away.” 

[jessewaters]

ediewonders‌:

The day was absolutely gorgeous. Edie was tempted to run off the ship and explore everything Key West had to offer- except she’d promised herself she would wait so she could make sure Niamh wasn’t isolating herself on the ship. Maybe I should stop ambushing her, she mused, leaning on the railing. A voice broke through her reverie, a welcome distraction.

“What sucks, the sunny day or this gorgeous view?” Edie smirked. 

“Neither. It’s just the fact that I feel like if I walk off this ship, I’m not gonna know what’ll happen to me.” He sighed, turning to look at the woman next to him. “Which probably doesn’t make any kind of sense coming from a stranger you met on a cruise.”

[jessewaters]

zander-francois‌:

After waiting a while for his spouse to get off the boat and get as far away as possible, Zander began to make his way to the exit. Wearing a fairly ridiculous hat, sunglasses, and sun screen, Zander was fairly confident in his simple yet effective disguise. As he walked toward the exit though, he heard someone speak and he froze. Removing his glasses quickly to get a look at the boy who spoke, Zander shook his head. “Excuse me? That is not the kind of attitude that belongs on a cruise.” He replied light heartedly, secretly a bit worried about the brunet in front of him.

Glancing up, Jesse watched the man looking at him for a moment. “Uh, well...” He looked back at the ground, unsure of what to say. “To be fair, I’m not exactly sure what kind of attitude I should have, especially when-” he paused, shaking his head.

“Never mind, it’s stupid. You should go down with all the other guests.”

[ocean--ave]

Late Arrival

Flying into Key West was not the initial plan, but when Eric’s staff booked this trip for him they hadn’t taken into account the fact that his younger sister’s wedding was the same night the cruise had set sail. Luckily, after discussing it further with the travel agents, Eric found out he could meet up with the ship in Key West.

So that was where he headed. Still hungover from the previous night’s festivities, he got on a plane to Key West, and made his way to the ship. There was mention of some confusion with his room, which he accounted for the fact he hadn’t been there the previous day, but he hadn’t expected to have to share with a complete stranger. It wasn’t something he was looking forward to. Heck, the cruise in general hadn’t been something he was looking forward to, but know here he was, looking admittedly a bit lost as he climbed aboard. 

“Excuse me?” He called out to the first person he saw.

[jessewaters]

Jesse stood in the loading area of the ship, scrolling through his phone. For what reason, he didn’t really know. There wasn’t much in the way of social media for hi to check. Maybe it was just out of familiarity and habit - a security blanket of sorts.

But someone calling in his general direction made him look up and question why someone was even talking to him - he was just a random person in the middle of a crowd. But the man looked lost, which Jesse could empathize with, so he slid his phone back into his pocket.

“Yes?”

[jessewaters]

Jesse stood off to the side of the dock, watching the other passengers disembark the ship. He wanted to go explore the island, he really did, but there was a part of him that just didn’t feel right about it. He was half tempted to just stay on the ship and go swimming or something - what if he got mugged while out on the island?

He groaned, letting his shoulders drop. How was it that he was so far away from home and his family still managed to mess things up for him?

“This sucks.”

[jessewaters]

Night One - Dinner

[jamiemoore-francois]

Honeymoon SNAFU

[jessewaters]

jamiemoore-francois‌:

“You’ve never had a drink?” they asked, raising an eyebrow. Of course they knew there were plenty of reasons to abstain from drinking, but on a cruise, Jamie thought it would be fun. It wasn’t like you could drink and drive on one. “Hm… well, I’ll buy you a glass of champagne if you wish. Why not celebrate? I mean, the ship has successfully taken sail. So that’s.. something,” they shrugged. 

Jesse sat for a minute, sipping his coke and thinking the prospect over in his head. His parents couldn’t stop him from having a drink, and he would be well within his legal rights to do so - what’s stopping him? But there was a part of him that disliked the idea for the simple fact he has zero tolerance whatsoever and he’s not even sure how one drink would effect him. 

“Think I’m gonna stick with the soda for now but I appreciate it,” he said with a smile. “Is everything good on your side, though? You seem a little, uhm... stressed?” Jesse shrugged, worried he might’ve overstepped a boundary somewhere. 

[jamiemoore-francois]

Honeymoon SNAFU

[jessewaters]

jamiemoore-francois‌:

“I always do parties.. just not today. I’m not really in the mood for it. I’m just going to get drunk and try to keep my buzz all day,” they shrugged and took another sip of their drink. “My plans for this trip went south really quickly, so these drinks should go down, too. Want a shot? I’ll buy you one. Or two.”

Jesse’s eyes went wide at the offer, never really considering the fact that he could drink if he wanted to. “I don’t-” he started, reaching up to brush a strand of hair behind his ear. “I mean I’ve never, uh, had a drink before.” He cleared his throat, moving his hand down to the bar, drumming his fingers against it. 

“Well I had a glass of champagne for New Years last year, but I wasn’t allowed to have more than that. My family isn’t big on drinking.” 

[jamiemoore-francois]

Honeymoon SNAFU

What a wonderful way to start a marriage. Jamie knew they royally fucked up, and they didn’t know where to begin with fixing things with Zander. As they were getting on the ship, Jamie wore a fake smile on his face, thanking everyone who checked them in and showed them to their suite. Jamie couldn’t even appreciate it. Once their bag was dropped, Jamie looked at Zander and sighed. Jamie didn’t want the silent treatment during their honeymoon, but they knew they needed to give Zander a little space. “I’m going to explore,” They told their new husband and left the room.

Explore. That wasn’t a lie. But Jamie wasn’t going to explore the ship. They were going to explore the bottom of a bottle. It didn’t take long for Jamie to find Signals, next to one of the pools. On a vacation, all social norms were off. If they wanted to drink before noon, they were going to. And if day drinking turned into night drinking.. well, that was okay. Jamie was just glad there were some adults-only areas on the ship. They weren’t sure they could handle their marriage already falling apart along with screaming children. So they ordered a strong cocktail, and drank it down fast before ordering another one - all while they fiddled with their wedding band and thought about what might happen next. “For once in my life, I’m not interested in going to a party,” they said to nobody in particular, having decided to skip the Sailing Away Deck Party. Jamie didn’t have Zander to hold and kiss as they left, so what was the point?

[jessewaters]

Jesse didn’t know why one of the first places he went to was the adult only section of the ship. Maybe it’s because it was another tiny act of rebellion against his parents, or maybe he was just genuinely curious as to what lay there. 

It was pretty quiet - something Jesse made sure to keep in mind for when things got hectic on the boat. 

He took a seat at the bar and ordered a coke, resigning himself to people watching instead of joining the others on deck for the party. But the person next to him said something, pulling him from his thoughts. It took a second to register what they said and he smirked. 

Me neither. I mean, I don’t really do parties in general.”