In The General Direction of Cap'n Jack...

Leaning back against the side of the ship, Elizabeth huffed moodily before rummaging in her jacket and pulling out Jack's compass. Flipping it open, she tapped her booted foot impatiently on the grimy deck whilst it continued to spin crazily, waiting for it to stop. Looking down she frowned, the compass was pointing in an entirely different direction than to what it had previously. Following the arrow and looking up in the specified direction, she rolled her eyes as her line of sight fell upon Jack in all his dreadlocked idiocy, dancing around the deck with his beloved jar of dirt. With an impatient hiss she snapped the compass shut again, shook it violently and waited for it to stop.

It was pointing in his direction again.

Thoroughly annoyed now, she closed it and shoved it back in her jacket pocket before turning to walk away and colliding with Jack himself, rum bottle in one hand and glass jar of dirt in the other.

'Ah, hello there!' he slurred with a wink, offering her the rum bottle, 'want some?'

'I'd rather not,' she declined sharply, shoving him away and making to move away.

'You've got no sense of fun, do you love?' he asked her amidst consuming a mouthful of rum.

'If you mean in the "stumbling around like an imbecile" sense, then no, I suppose I don't.' she answered, clipping his shoulder as she stalked past him and sending him slipping around the deck, clambering onto the side of the ship for support.

Chasing his jar of dirt as it rolled away from him, he snatched it up and ran unsteadily after her.

'You, my dear Elizabeth, are afraid of having fun because you don't want to do something you'll regret… Like becoming attracted to me, for instance.' He informed her with another, slightly more suggestive wink.

'I hardly think that I could ever succumb to such poor taste.' She replied in a tight-lipped fashion.

'Ah, but every time you spin me ol' compass, it ends up pointing to me, dunnit? You've gotta see the signs Lizzie, love.' He said with a grin that blinded her with gold fillings that flashed in the sunlight, 'You sure you don't want some?'

Fixing him with a dangerous glare, she held his gaze momentarily before tearing her eyes away and snatching the bottle away from him. Upending it, she took a huge slug of the alcohol and swallowed it with a gurgle.

'I'll take that as a "yes".' He remarked with a somewhat put-off air.

Raising an eyebrow, she took a slightly more ladylike sip before returning it.
'Thank you.'

Sitting down on the stairs, she pulled her hat off her head, letting her mane of light brown hair tumble down her back. Resting back on her elbows, she looked up at him, holding a hand up to shield her eyes from the blinding sun.
'What is it that you want with me Jack?' she asked.

'Erm, do you want the truth or the blunt truth?' he responded with a slightly nervous chuckle.

'The blunt truth, I suppose.' She said.

'To come back to me cabin and take all your clothes off.' He said with a wink, handing the rum bottle out to her again.

Her mouth agape, she stared at him.
'Why, you – '

'Or you could always hear the erm, not-blunt truth…' he interrupted hurriedly.

'Which is?' she asked impatiently.

'I don't really know...' He answered, completely truthfully, wincing as she wrenched her mouth open furiously to respond, 'but when I do, you'll be the first to know!'

'You're unbelievable!' she yelled, 'I'm on a mission to find my fiancée and all you're trying to do is get me into bed with you!'

'Ah, but the husband-to-be isn't here and as he is a "husband-to-be", not a "husband-already", it would be perfectly fine for us to retire to my bedroom.' He defended cockily.

'Unbelievable!' she spluttered again, pulling her hat back on furiously and marching off, leaving him standing there, perfectly content to continue drinking his rum.

Leaning against the mast of the ship, silently fuming, Elizabeth watched the brilliantly red and orange sunset, a lone tear trailing its way down her cheek.

'Ah, there you are!' said a familiar voice from behind her, the greeting followed by the thumping of large boots.

Screwing her nose delicately at the sound of his voice, she turned around to face him with a look that clearly portrayed her present desire to push him off a rather large cliff.

'I've erm, been looking for you.' he continued, looking sheepishly down at his feet.

'And why have you been doing such a thing?' she asked airily.

'To find you and apologise.' He answered, his eyeliner gleaming in the orange sunlight.

'You'll find that it won't be accepted.' She said icily, turning her back on him.

Frowning, Jack raised an eyebrow; he wasn't quite used to such cold behaviour from a woman.
'Why's that?'

'Because, I, unlike most women you've undoubtedly come across, am not easily persuaded into anything; least of all, persuasion to believe in a pirate.' She responded, pulling the compass from her jacket pocket.

'Ah,' he said stupidly, not quite sure of what to say.

'You and I are two completely different people Jack, and in the interest of this voyage and my fiancée's life, I suggest you stay as far away from me as possible.' She continued, flipping open the compass and watching it spin again.

'You'll find that won't be necessary.' He said, peering over her shoulder at the compass.

'And why do you say that?' she enquired just as the arrow stopped.

'Because that compass points in the direction of whatever the holder wants or desires the most, and it just stopped in my direction… again.' He said quietly, smiling slightly as she turned to look at him.

'I don't understand why it does that.' She whispered as the tears spilled down her cheeks, 'Will is my fiancée and I love him to the depths of the ocean and back, and yet it lands on you.'

'You're a beautiful woman Elizabeth,' he replied, 'and beautiful women are the most unfortunate when it comes to love.'

Wrinkling her brow at this sudden depth in his character, Elizabeth nodded, inviting him to continue.

'But perhaps it's just because I'm such a pretty man.' He finished with a roguish wink, making her laugh tiredly.

'And for one moment there, I thought that you might have actually become a decent man, Jack Sparrow.' she said, shaking her head sadly in amusement.

'Me… Captain Jack Sparrow… A decent man?' he echoed with a smirk, 'I think you're forgetting that I'm a pirate darling… A most dangerous one at that.'

'Well, with that in mind, I suppose the compass does make sense now.' She said unexpectedly, causing him to stare at her in bewilderment, 'I was always attracted to dangerous men.'

'Ah love, that's just my charm and charisma – no woman could resist.' He replied with a grin, 'They always end up looking in the general direction of Cap'n jack.'

Hey!
This is my first PotC fanfic, so be easy on me...
Please R&R - if you dont like it, i'll probably take it down...

Cheers,
Ash xx