Hello everybody once again! I decided that I should explore some other character's so I decided to write this. It's kind of sad, but everything is for Jack after At World's End. I just hope you don't cry. :) I'm not very good at Jack's character, so it might seem a bit OOC but I tried my best. Oops, if it's not very good. :) Oh yeah, and another thing; the ending might seem a bit "cut the monkey out of the tree" type as in "blah blah blah" and then all of a sudden "the end" kind so sorry if it seems a bit strange... :) but as I said, I tried my best.

Disclaimer: If POTC were mine, it would be Sparrabeth. (So obviously it's not mine but I sooooooooooo wish it were.)

Why?

Why did she leave me? Of course she left you; she loves Will not you, you scumbag.

I couldn't help the way I felt. It was over three months since I had come back from the Locker and I still could not help but wonder what could have been--

No.

I took another swig of rum from the bottle sitting on the table. After all this time, sailing here and there in that dinghy, I still ended up in the crowded, pilfered-through town of Tortuga. But what did it matter anymore? I had once said to William (ugh, William) that if every town were like this one, no man would ever feel unwanted. Well, good for him, he was no longer unwanted. However I, on the other hand, was still here, sitting amidst a crowd of drunkards, feeling very much unwanted.

My only consolation was the fact that William couldn't see Elizabeth either. Heh, well so much for that, neither can you.

My mind wandered. I was like that empty rum bottle sitting on the table, all by itself. I was in Tortuga, where it didn't matter who you were; you were a pirate if you had a foot on the damn place. The rum bottle, as well, was mixed in a crowd of other glass bottles just like it. It was no different from the rest. Who cared?

But yet again, it was different. I was the only one who had touched it, besides the other man who had given it to me. Or should I say, the man that I had grabbed it from.

You're going crazy Jack. I knew I was going crazy; I didn't need a reminder.

If you miss her so much, why don't you just go find her? I don't know where she bloody lives!

I was having that little pro/con argument with myself again. Little Jack #1 and the Devil, is what I called them.

I continued staring at the cracks on the grime-covered floor. My mind unconsciously blocked all the various sounds of screaming, shouting and cussing.

Suddenly a voice drifted by.

"Jack?"

My head snapped up. I scanned the bar closely, looking for the familiar face from which the all-too-familiar voice came from. But all I saw was chaos.

I craned my neck to look beyond the "reign of chaos" and still saw no one. I really was going crazy, wasn't I?

I slumped in my seat and ordered two more bottles of rum. Might as well drink more since apparently I couldn't think and had no one to talk to.

"Jack, where are you?"

Now I was sure that I heard Elizabeth's voice. But I couldn't find her, as she couldn't seem to find me. I looked around in dizziness, which was probably caused by all seven bottles of rum that I had managed to devour in the past forty minutes.

I stood up drunkenly, slamming the bottle that I had in my hand on the table, causing the people sitting next to me to jump in their seats. I staggered to the door of the bar and leaned against the doorframe. I gulped in the fresh night air, trying to think clearly. It was useless to try to concentrate, what with all the noise in the room, but it cleared my head well enough to start the little voices again.

That was Elizabeth, wasn't it? What's she doing here in this bloody port? No idea, mate, but she's here and now's your chance to get to her and tell you how you feel!

Impossible, she can't be here. She's probably at least 100 miles away. Who cares?

Lizzie...my Lizzie no not my Lizzie, stupid Will's Lizzie no Lizzie's not his Elizabeth's his Lizzie's mine...mine...mine...no not mine...yes she's mine...dream on...

My thoughts were once again beginning to jumble. What the hell was wrong with me?

"Jack, I can't find you."

I heard it again. I shook my head in an attempt to stop the voice.

"Jack."

My name kept repeating itself over and over in my mind in that voice. It was useless trying to deny it, but then it was useless to attempt to block it out. It was still the same voice but she spoke in a different way than she used to. It was soft, like velvet, and it had the chime of bells in every sound that she uttered.

I stared at the starry night sky and sighed. It would have been a perfect night, were it not for the fact that I was here, alone. Alone. How pathetic.

No wonder she never loved you. Who would like a pathetic man?

I continued staring at the glimmering stars and in my mind, I began to create a constellation of...well...her.

I imagined which stars would be the general shape of her head, and which ones would be her eyes, her nose, her mouth, her chin. Her hair was difficult. Not any amount of stars could ever be a substitute for her long, flowing, silky hair. It cascaded (cascaded, Jack, what the hell) from the top of her head down to her shoulders. And the way it looked when the light shone on it...it was mesmerizing...

But I would have to do with a substitute anyhow, and so I did, and as I did, the real face of Elizabeth began to appear, slowly...

Before I knew it, I had painted Elizabeth in the stars and as they shone brightly against the dark, night background, I started to get a heavy feeling in my chest again. I hated to admit to myself the truth, but it was undenyable.

You love her, Jack. That, I can agree on with you, for once. He is in looove (said the Devil).

"Jack, are you even here?"

There was the voice again. This time it was unmistakable. It was Elizabeth. My Lizzie. (Or so I wished.)

I turned around again and again in full, complete, whole circles but she wasn't there.

But then, I spotted a flash of long, silky hair blow past a pillar.

Elizabeth's hair.

Lizzie's hair.

I hurriedly walked to the pillar and looked around. I still only saw drunken men and crazy women (all of which were not Elizabeth.)

"Jack, is that you?"

The voice came from behind me. I whirled around and saw a shadow in the corner.

"Elizabeth?" I whispered uncertainly, desperately.

"Jack, it is you."

I narrowed my eyes and squinted, trying to see if it was Elizabeth. I knew how mind played tricks on me, but nevertheless, I hoped (very much hoped) that it was Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth?" I repeated.

"Yes, Jack, it is me, Elizabeth, don't you remember?" came the soft voice from the corner again. And then she stepped out of the shadows.

I was struck with joy at the sight of her. And I was shocked. I hadn't seen her for nearly four months and the sight of her, actually standing in front of me was almost too much to imagine. She had changed, though. She was so much skinnier and looked so frail. She had dark circles around her eyes and her cheekbones were too sharp for a natural look.

But then, she hadn't changed. She was still Elizabeth. My Lizzie. She still had some of the adventurous shine in her eyes, although I suppose all this time had probably worn away most of it. She smiled the same old smile that haunted me in my dreams every single night. To me, she was still the most beautiful creature on Earth.

"Jack, it's been so long." She whispered, breaking the silence between us.

"Yes, it's been rather a while, hasn't it?"

"I'm so glad to see you Jack." she continued. "I've been cooped up in that house for so long and I was sick and tired of waiting and it's only been three months and I don't know how much longer I can hold out if I go at this rate. Please help me Jack. I have no one else to turn to."

I smiled a little and spoke. "Well, I know one thing that can cure all troubles. At least to begin with. ...rum!"

I took her arm and nearly dragged her to the counter. After ordering two extremely large rum bottles, I turned to her and grinned.

"How can I begin to help you, love?"

She put her head in her hands dejectedly and shook it. "I don't know, Jack, just do something. Anything. Anything to get away from that awful house and that awful place. Anything, Jack, anything."

"Well..." I thought. I turned my head towards the ceiling and pondered. (Heh heh Jack, ponder. Oh, shut up.) What could I do to make her happy? I could begin by taking her on the dinghy, no that wouldn't work. It was too small, and plus, it would make me look like an pathetic idiotic captain who was only capable of losing ships.

Suddenly, my thoughts were broken by a cry from the person sitting next to me. From Elizabeth. I turned to look at her, which was rather considerably more difficult than before because she was leaning on me and wailing. Or whining. But of course the former sounds much better and much more damsel-in-distress-y.

"Why did it happen to me, Jack? What did I do to deserve this? Why did I save Will from that floating raft and take care of him? Why did I let myself fall in love with him? I'm so stupid, so horribly selfish for doing this to you Jack and I can't blame Will because it's not his fault either and besides him and you and my father, who I can't blame either, I can only blame myself. I don't care if I'm selfish anymore. I don't care about anything. I just want a life again!!..."

I reached to put my arms around her, to comfort her. But then something very strange thing happened.

She disappeared.

Which was very unfortunate for two reasons.

One, Elizabeth was gone again.

Two, it made me look like an idiot. (Hugging air, Jack?) But it was the first reason that traumatized me the most.

I blinked multiple times, trying to figure out what had happened. Did it really happen? Or was I hallucinating (as I very often did)?

I looked around the tavern and (luckily) everyone was still minding their own stupid business of crashing into things and creating more chaos.

My hands dropped to my sides again. No, it couldn't have been a hallucination. It had to have been her. I could still feel the warmth of her hand in mine and the brush of the tips of her hair on my cheek. No, it wasn't possible that it had been a hallucination.

Or had it been?

Had it been just a mere fantasy?