Keith trotted after Isabella calmly, wondering who she was and why she was escaping so quickly. She was walking quickly towards a lower deck but he had no trouble keeping up with her.
She glanced behind and stifled a scream when she saw him a few yards behind her. "What are you doing?" she asked incredulously. "Why are you following me?"
Keith shrugged. "Just following orders. What's your name?"
"Isabella." She rounded a corner and pulled a key from her pocket, her nails flashing in the light. Opening a cabin door, she hesitated. "I'll be out in a bit, if you are still around." She smiled but Keith noticed that her smile lacked verisimilitude.
He nodded. "I'm not supposed to let you out of my sight."
Isabella stubbornly crossed her arms and shook her head. "Well, you aren't coming in."
Keith frowned. "You alright, lass? You look pale?"
She swallowed, hard, before ducking into her room. Keith waited by the door for a minute before hearing stumbling inside. "Lass? Isabella? You alright?" He knocked and waited.
"Just...a second!"
"Can I come in? Do you need help?" He was starting to get really worried. Pulling out his phone, he dialed Emmet and waited.
When Emmet picked up, he burst with, "You gotta help! She is stumbling around in there and can't really support herself and is really pale and won't let me in..."
"Calm down," Emmet ordered him. "Just go in there and help."
"What?" Keith yelled. He smiled charmingly at one of the passengers who chose that moment to walk out her door. "Hello, how are you this fine evening?"
The lady stopped and stared. "You're Keith Harkin!" she squealed.
"I am," he nodded, glancing around for a means of escape.
"Can I have a picture? It looks like you're busy, but after a picture, I'll leave you alone," she promised.
Keith complied, grateful for a normal fan. "Emmet?" he finally asked after the woman left.
"Still here. Is she still dying?"
Keith put his ear up to the door. "Uh... I don't hear anything." He took a deep breath. "I'm going in."
"Have fun, 007," Emmet said wryly.
Keith hung up before he said something he would probably regret and slowly pushed the door open. His eyes widened slightly at all the clothes lying around before he noticed Isabella looking at herself in the mirror.
She slowly turned to look at him. "Why are you in my room?" she asked softly, her voice dangerous.
Keith shrugged. "I thought you were dying and Emmet said not to let you leave my sight."
She sighed and opened her hand, allowing him a quick view of the pills she was holding before swallowing them in a fluid motion. "Well, thank you for your concern."
He nodded. "Are you alright?"
She shrugged. "I will be in a couple of minutes."
Keith waited for a moment. "Should we go join the others?"
"Sure. But if you ever walk into my room without permission again, I will kick you. Hard." Her eyes were threatening but Keith caught the hint of joking in them.
"It's a deal."
-----
Emmet frowned at the phone before dropping it back into his pocket. "What's your name?" he asked Danielle, his voice dripping kindness.
Her eyes widened at his abrupt change in attitude. "Ella..." she said slowly.
"No, no. Your full name."
"You sound weird," Colm said slowly, looking between Danielle and Emmet. "What's going on? You know Ella." His eyes narrowed. "Except maybe..."
"Maybe we don't? That is what I was thinking." Emmet tapped his fingers against his legs thoughtfully. "So you are--"
A loud ringtone came from his pocket and he pulled out his phone quickly. "Keith is on his way," he announced. "And then we will sort this out."
"Okay?" Danielle asked, looking between Colm and Emmet with a worried look on her face. "But I should probably get back to my sister soon."
Emmet raised an eyebrow but stayed silent.
"Hey!" Keith yelled, catching their attention a few minutes later. "I brought company."
Isabella smiled as she saw the other two lads. "Hey, guys! How are you?"
Emmet frowned. "How are you? You don't look so pale anymore. You okay?"
"Don't worry about that," Isabella insisted, waving off his concern. "So, what's going on?" She smiled at Danielle. "Hey, how are you?"
Danielle smiled tightly. "Getting more worried about my little sister with every passing second. Can we get this over with? What's going on?"
Keith stared in disbelief between Danielle and Isabella, before blurting out, "Are you two like twins or something?"
They glanced at each other, confused, before shaking their heads. "Why?" Danielle asked.
"We don't really look alike," Isabella said at the same time. "Why would you think we were twins?"
"You look exactly alike," Keith insisted. "Same hair and eyes and facial structure....the only difference is your height. And style choices." He paused.
Isabella grimaced at the outfit her sister had put her in and then laughed. "Alli's choice. I had no control over my outfit." She glanced with distaste at her sparkly nails.
"Really? It suits you." Keith grinned.
Emmet stopped him before he could continue. "Your full names, please?"
"Danielle."
"Isabella."
"Both going by Ella," Colm finished. "Wow."
"What are the odds?" Emmet murmured.
"Do your sisters look alike, too?" Colm asked. "Both redheads?"
"Jayna's isn't natural," Danielle said, "but yes."
"Alli's is totally natural," Isabella said quickly, finding the need to stand up for her sister.
"Both talkative?" Emmet asked ruefully.
They both nodded.
"What's going on here?" Keith asked, still confused. "Have you met these ladies before?"
Emmet nodded. "Shall we sit?"
Finding a couple of deck chairs, they managed to fit and relax a little.
Emmet leaned forward. "No wonder you looked so confused before," he started, glancing at Danielle, hoping she was the one he meant.
Danielle shrugged. "I did wonder why you were even talking to me. Or seemed to know me. And my name. And everything."
"I thought maybe something had gone horribly wrong and maybe I was losing my memory after the concussion," Emmet laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I thought you wondered if I was crazy. And I guess I was right."
Danielle shrugged. "You were right." She muttered, "And maybe I was right, too."
Keith laughed. And laughed. They all turned to stare at him as he tipped his head back. "The way you agreed with him was so...oh! He most definitely is!" He kept laughing.
Danielle turned a piercing older sister glare on him and he slowly stopped.
"So which of you gave Emmet the concussion?" Colm asked. "You, right?" He motioned towards Isabella. "You're the one I met? When you gave him a concussion?"
Isabella flushed slightly and bit her lip, hoping he was teasing. "Uh... Well, it was an accident." Her eyes lit up suddenly. "Hey, do you lads really play all these pranks on each other?" she asked. "I mean, I read a lot about your pranks on each other, and read some fanfiction on it, too. All very funny. Say, I was wondering if maybe I could help fuel that pranking game this cruise. It would be so fun." She sighed happily.
Danielle rolled her eyes and glanced away. "She's just another crazy fan," she muttered under her breath, annoyed.
Colm's eyes flashed amusement at Danielle. "You know, Isabella, it might be nice to have some fresh ideas..."
Keith grinned. "I call your genius brain," he teased Isabella. "You aren't allowed to help them with any pranks."
Isabella laughed. "Like I would let myself be handed out to be used like that," she said saucily.
Keith just winked, earning a giggle.
Emmet raised an eyebrow. "Okay. So which of the sisters is the embarrassing one?"
Danielle frowned. "She isn't necessarily embarrassing..."
Emmet grinned. "Your tone says otherwise."
"And what about not getting pregnant?" Colm teased her. "That was you who said that, right? You must have had a reason."
Danielle smiled suddenly, the first time for the whole talk. "Yeah, I said that. Okay, so Jayna is like an adorable puppy who hasn't been trained yet to behave, but you still have to love her." She paused suddenly, struck with a horrible thought. "Oh, no. Where is Jayna?!"
-----
Jayna giggled and placed her hand on Neil's shoulder. "I was thinking more like...dancing or something. Do you dance?" Her eyes were large and innocent.
Neil swallowed slowly and shook her hand off his arm subtly before shaking his head. "I actually am pretty bad at dancing. Considering my music background, that must be pretty strange, huh?"
Jayna winked. "Nah. My totally boring older sister has a background in music but she's sups terrible at dancing. Like, talk about two left feet! Am I right?" She took a sip of her drink before bouncing in her seat. "Hey! Omg! Is that Ryan?"
Neil turned to look, hoping to see his friend, but was disappointed when Jayna sat still. "Nope, dang it. Just a look alike, I guess." Her eyes lit up. "That could be good enough! What do you think?"
"I--uh--" Neil shrugged. "It's up to you?" he finished weakly.
She considered it before shaking her head. "I would so much rather hang out with you! Isn't this fun?" She giggled before finishing her drink. "So, Neil, tell me for serious now. What's it like traveling with all the amazing lads for weeks on end?" Sighing, she smiled. "Is it like heaven?"
"No..." he said cautiously. "It can actually be pretty hard."
Jayna shrugged. "I guess." She laughed. "You sure you don't want to dance?"
Neil shook his head quickly. "Please, but don't let me stop you."
She nodded before jumping. "Oh, I got a text." Glancing at her phone, she rolled her eyes. "It's my totes annoying big sis. Oh!" She hesitated. "Omg! Keith and Emmet and Colm! I have to go! It was so super nice meeting you, Neil! I will def see you around, kay?!" Dropping a kiss on his cheek, she rushed off, leaving a very confused Neil behind.
I seriously love Jayna