Follow Me
UN
18 year old Elizabeth Swann rolled over on the grass and looked at her best friend, William Turner, and sighed.
"Are you scared about tomorrow?" She asked, sitting up and leaning against the tree that was currently providing them shade.
Will opened his eyes at the question and looked over at her. "A little, I guess. I'm more excited than anything."
"Me too! I'm so ready to get out of this tiny little town and finally have a little bit of adventure in my life."
Will chuckled. Elizabeth was always looking for some sort of 'adventure.' He could think of dozens of times where she had gotten him into trouble over the last ten years they had known each other. They had always been an odd pair. Will had moved to Swansboro, North Carolina with his mother over ten years ago. He had always been shy, polite, and extremely quiet. His mother was a seamstress who worked in a shop in the center of town. Elizabeth, however, was outspoken and lively, and always loved to go find some kind of fun or adventure. She had lived in Swansboro her entire life. Her father was a North Carolina senator, and was often away on business. Her mother was the perfect politician's wife. She was beautiful, always well kept, and was always engaged in some form of charity. Altogether, the Swann family looked like the perfect family. Will knew, however, that this wasn't true. Will and Elizabeth met in school when they were eight years old, and had been friends ever since. They didn't exactly fit in the same social circle or carried the same height in society, but they didn't care. They had faced the good and bad times together, and remained inseparable.
"You'll be the death of me, you know that don't you?" Will responded, sitting up and resting back on his hands.
"Oh whatever, Will. You know you love being around me." She teased.
"Damn. All these years I thought it was you who loved me."
Elizabeth laughed, reaching into her purse and grabbing her cell phone to check on the time. 3:45 pm..
"You need to go?" Will asked, watching her.
"No, not really. My dad wants to have some big fancy family dinner at five. It's completely stupid. They all act like I'm dying instead of going to college. But anyways, I told James to meet me at four thirty."
"Ah, and how is Norry taking you leaving tomorrow?"
Deep down, Will was filled with jealousy. He wouldn't show that to her of course. He had learned long ago to put on the best friend face when these situations came up. When they were little, Elizabeth was his best friend who just happened to be cute. They reached puberty, and Will began to notice his feelings for Elizabeth. It wasn't until a few years ago that Will realized he was in love with her. He knew he couldn't tell her. She had been raised with standards, and he knew he didn't fulfill them. He would simply always be the best friend.
Elizabeth laughed at Will's nickname for her boyfriend, James Norrington. While she and Will were off to North Carolina Wesleyan College for school, James was headed to Parris Island for boot camp and then officer's training, just as his father had done.
"I'm breaking up with him after dinner."
Will looked up, shocked. "Why?"
"I don't know. I'm bored again. He's too serious and so stern. I just don't feel anything for him. James is a really good guy, I just can't force myself to love him. What's wrong with me Will? Why does this always happen?"
'Maybe because the right guy is sitting right next to you.' Will thought. "Maybe you're always going for the wrong guy. We leave tomorrow for college. There's going to be hundreds of guys lined up at your door. I'm sure the right guy will come along."
Elizabeth smiled and nodded. Will, on the other hand, could have kicked himself. 'Good one Will. All kinds of guys out there. Let's just lower the chances even more. How about, Elizabeth I love you. That would have worked fine too.'
"Well, I'd better get going and get all of this over with. I'll see you later right?" Elizabeth said standing up.
"Yeah, my mom will be home at eight. Movie starts around then."
"Sounds good. I'll see you then."
Will nodded as Elizabeth walked away. They had made plans to spend the night with Will's mother. Over the years, Elizabeth had become like a daughter to Amelia Turner. Will and Elizabeth had often felt more comfortable spending time at his house than Elizabeth's enormous and incredibly stuffy house. Plus, Will knew that Elizabeth needed to escape there more than she would let on. Her father had expectations and plans for her, while Elizabeth had something completely different in mind.
Will got up and walked home himself. He had a lot of stuff he still needed to pack and very little time to get it done.
Elizabeth sat in her family's large dining room listening to her father go on and on about the upcoming presidential elections. She looked around the table to find that most of the people were probably interested in what he was saying. Three of her uncles were officers in the military, her aunt was a lobbyist in Washington, and her father was a Republican senator. The Swann family had always been a powerful family in politics and in Washington, and Elizabeth seemed to be the only one who wasn't happy about that. She looked over at her boyfriend, James, who was looking at her father with admiring eyes. 'Good Lord.' She thought to herself. 'No wonder he's boring as hell. He s just like my father.' She stifled a laugh at the thought. 'Probably also why Father likes him so much.'
"Elizabeth." Her father said sternly.
She broke out of her reverie and looked at him. "Hmmm?"
"Elizabeth, pay attention. Your grandmother asked you a question." He glared at her.
"Sorry, Grams. I was trying to remember if I had packed everything I needed for tomorrow." She lied and smiled sweetly at the elderly woman.
"Oh that's fine dear. I know you're probably worried. I was just curious about what you had decided your major would be yet."
Elizabeth opened her mouth to answer, but her father interjected. "Elizabeth has decided to follow family tradition and go into Poli-Sci."
Elizabeth forced a smile as everyone around her commented on how wonderful that was. 'If you were going to answer for me, why did you make such a big deal about paying attention. And no, Elizabeth hasn't decided on Political Science. She would rather go into English and become a teacher but that's too petty for anyone with the last name of Swann.'
She was once again stirred from her thoughts as a servant came in and took their finished plates. Elizabeth had tried to eat as little as she could. She was more excited about the pizza she would be eating later than the duck l'orange her father had ordered up for dinner. It was her favorite meal, according to him at least.
The table was cleared and everyone made their way into the lounging room for more discussion. Elizabeth, however, led James out to the porch where they could talk alone.
"Elizabeth, it's entirely too rude to leave everyone in there. They are here to wish you well and send you off to college properly. I just don't think..."
Elizabeth zoned out as he continued on about being proper and polite. "James." She blurted out, causing him to stop talking. 'This is isn't working anymore.
He looked at her dumbfounded. "What?"
"This, me and you, isn't working for me."
"But why? We're perfect Elizabeth. Everyone thinks so."
"No, James. They don't. And I really really don't. I just can't do this anymore."
"Can't you just give it a little more time? Things will get better. Just tell me what I need to do. Tell me what I need to do to make it right."
"James. You are a wonderful guy and you didn't do anything wrong. You're just not the guy for me. I'm sorry. I just don't feel that spark between us, ya know? I'm so sorry."
She felt bad as she watched him try to think of something that would make her change her mind.
"I'm sorry, James. But I have to go finish getting ready. I wish you all the best." She leaned in to give him a hug and kiss his cheek before turning away and going back inside.
Once inside, she leaned against the door and let out a sigh of relief. At least that was taken care of.
She pushed herself back off of the door and walked into the lounge. "I'm going over to Will's to say goodbye to Amelia. I'll be back in a little while."
Weatherby Swarm looked at his wife and then at Elizabeth, "Elizabeth, dear, you know how I feel about that boy."
Elizabeth hated this. He said this every time she mentioned Will or anything about him, which is why she usually went to her mother for most things regarding Will.
"Yes, I do know. And you know that I feel that in this day and age it's entirely ridiculous to put someone down because they are lower on the social ladder than you are. Mother," She said turning to the left, "I'm going to Will's. I will be back in a few hours."
She turned on her heel and walked out of the room and house altogether. She had already had enough of her family and their stuck up values.
Amelia Turner walked into her small ranch styled home to find her son at the sink doing dishes.
"You know, I really am going to miss you around here." She teased. "I won't have anyone to do my housework."
Will laughed and dried his hands on a towel. He walked over and gave his mom a hug. "How was work today, Mom?"
"Oh, you know. Same old, same old. I'm making a wedding dress for the Strander's wedding. It's definitely been consuming all of my time."
"Well, I'm sure it looks amazing. I already ordered the pizza, and Elizabeth is coming over as soon as she left her own family thing. So go and change out of your work clothes and get comfy on the couch." He smiled at her and went back to the dishes. "I'll take care of everything else."
"I'm not sure how I ended up with you as a son, but I thank God for it everyday." She said with a laugh. "So when is Elizabeth coming over?"
Will looked at the clock on the microwave. "It should be any time now."
"You should tell her how you feel you know." Amelia said.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Was all he said, concentrating even harder on the dish in his hand. He nervously scrubbed it so hard that it fell out of his hands and back into the sink.
"Sure you don't." She winked at him, and walked back to her room to change. Will thought about what she had said. What she didn't know was that he had tried. Countless times he had tried to tell Elizabeth everything that was going through his mind and heart. Every time he got close to telling her, he would look at her and just know it wasn't meant to be. She was a senator's daughter, and he was a nobody. That was all he needed to know.
He heard the door swing open, and saw Elizabeth walk in.
"Well hello there Cinderfella." She said, causing him to laugh. He dried his hands again, and turned to face her.
"Is your Mom home yet?"
"Yeah, she got here just before you did. She's in her room changing."
On cue, Amelia walked out into the kitchen. "Elizabeth!"
"Hey Amy!" She gave the older woman a hug. "How you holding up?"
Elizabeth knew that Will was pretty much all the family Amelia had. They had always been super close, even when Will was little. When she had first met them, Elizabeth had been jealous of their relationship, but over the years she had become apart of their little family. She felt more at home here than she did at her own house.
"Oh, I'm doing alright. I'm going to miss you two, though."
There was a knock at the door, and Will walked over to answer it. A delivery guy stood with their pizza, handing it over to Will.
"That'll be fourteen dollars." The delivery man said with the cliché surfer boy accent.
Will reached into his pocket and handed the man enough for the pizza plus tip, and then took the pizza inside closing the door.
"Dinner is served." He said with a smile.
Amelia walked to the cabinet and grabbed some paper plates and a few sodas. "Why don't we move into the living room and start up the movie?"
"Sounds good to me!" Elizabeth said, already halfway to the living room. She plopped herself down on the large chaise in the middle of the room.
"How do you manage to get that chair every single time?" Will said, making his best puppy dog face.
"No you don't Mr. Turner. I will not give in this time!" She crossed her arms and sat back in the chair, propping her legs up on the ottoman. Will gave in and sat on the couch next to his mother.
"So what movie are we watching?" He said, looking over at his mother.
"I picked up Juno and Enchanted from the movie store. You two take your pick."
"Juno." Will said before Elizabeth could even speak up.
"But Will, I wanted to watch Enchanted." Elizabeth said, her turn to break out the pouty face.
"No, no, no, no!" Will said looking away. "That is so not fair. You got the chair."
Amelia laughed at the two teenagers. "So what'll it be?"
Will looked over at Elizabeth who's face was still pouting. "Fine!" He sat back, crossing his arms. "Enchanted it is."
Elizabeth squealed and clapped her hands.
Almost three hours later the three were engulfed in deep conversation.
"And he keeps going on and on about how we need to make a stand. He'd probably drop dead if he knew I was a registered democrat." Elizabeth said, taking a sip of her Coke.
"Maybe if you explained to him why you feel the way you do, he'd understand." Amelia said.
Elizabeth shook her head. "No, probably not. Do you know that he picked my major for me?"
Will looked over at his mother. This conversation was pretty much between Elizabeth and her anyways, seeing as how he already knew most of this. He and Elizabeth talked about everything. Amelia shook her head. "I'm sorry Elizabeth. But I think going away is going to be better for you than you think. It'll give you a chance to be yourself."
"I hope so. He'll probably send security or something to make sure that doesn't happen." She joked, looking down at her cell. "Holy crap! It's after eleven."
She sat up and put her shoes back on. "I'd better get headed home. We've both got to be up early tomorrow."
She stood up and stretched. Will also stood.
"Goodnight Amy. Thanks for everything tonight." Elizabeth said giving the woman a hug.
"Goodnight Elizabeth. Good luck tomorrow."
"Thank you, bye bye." Elizabeth waved and walked into the kitchen.
"I'll be right back Mom." Will said and then followed Elizabeth into the kitchen. They both stepped outside onto the porch. Elizabeth immediately walked over to Will, who put his arms around her. He took a deep breath, taking in the scent of her hair. If she only knew how much he loved these moments.
"You think we're going to do okay there Will?"
"Of course we will. At least we'll both be there, ya know?"
Elizabeth nodded, and to Will's dismay, pulled away. "I'll call you tomorrow after I get settled in okay?"
He nodded. "Goodnight Elizabeth."
"Goodnight Will."
Will continued to stand there for several moments watching as she walked away. He finally turned to go inside. Tomorrow was the start of a brand new life.
this is my first attempt at a POTC story. i'm totally addicted to the modern stories, so here's my attempt at it. please review and tell me what you think...