A/N: (*Dodges rocks and other projectiles*) I am so sorry I've been gone for so long… life kept me from my loyal reviewers and viewers. I'm starting a new story as you can see, but I promise I will update my other stories within the next week. (Sobs dramatically) I apologize to all those who are frustrated with me for not updating. Here is a new story as a gift to you and all those die hard Pirates fans out there
*Lokifangirl does not own Pirates*
Catching the Horizon
Danielle remembered someone telling her that adventure was around every corner. And for a long time, she believed them. But over time, the little girl had to grow up. Reality was ever a curse upon the imaginative child, who longed for the fantastical adventures that played out in her head, inspired by books devoured, or movies she seemed to experience rather than watch. Danielle, in fact, was, quite extraordinary. She just didn't know it. I'm sure you've heard that great men, or, in this case, women are always called. Well, Danielle's calling came in the form of a certain pirate. At the moment, the petite brunette had no idea of the adventure she was about to take part in. In fact, she was rather like you or I, an ordinary young woman in her early twenties, but special in that she had the most wonderful imagination. Over time, she was forced to abandon her friends in "other worlds" as she thought of them. Her characters, her family. The people who were there for her when no one else was. Little Danielle was all grown up now, but she had not forgotten her imagination. It was buried deeply within, as Danielle had been very busy with work and college and all the troubles any ordinary young woman would have once pushed out into the harsh world on her own. She could not afford to live in her fantasies any longer. Little did she know that her fantasies were tired of being ignored. And they were about to give her a little wake up call. And so it begins.
One gloomy January afternoon, Danielle sighed wearily as she folded the last of her laundry and tucked it neatly into the piles on her coffee table. Life was crushing her. She was overworked, and the color that people had always complimented in her cheeks had vanished. She pushed her beautiful brown tresses out of her face and behind her ear as she glanced up at the T.V. Danielle couldn't quite remember what she had been watching, and only vaguely remembered turning the T.V on, but she had a sudden urge to change the channel. With a dull, glazed look in her eyes, she flipped through the stations, blinking blearily at the screen and stifling a yawn. She needed rest. She'd been working all weekend, and it was now Sunday afternoon. Her best friend Celeste would be scolding her right now. Tall, blonde and sassy – Celeste was everything she wasn't, and confident to boot.
"Girl!" she would say in that sympathetic tone of hers. "You are such a workaholic! You need to get out of this house!" Danielle smiled. She could so vividly imagine her saying that, if she were there. Which she wasn't, Danielle reminded herself. Back to work, missy! Too busy thinking about Celeste, Danielle soon realized that her finger was still clicking through stations. She felt a strange tingling run up her spine and tried to take her finger off the button. It wouldn't budge, and continued to click. Danielle, scared now that she seemed to have no control over her finger, screamed. At that moment another yell matched hers, coming at that moment from the T.V. Still freaked out, she stumbled back onto the sofa, dropping the remote. She stared at her finger and flexed it carefully. It bent at her will normally. Still shaking, Danielle shook her head. Perhaps Celeste is right. Maybe I really have been working too hard lately. Glancing up, she met the eyes of her weakness on the screen. The familiar suave tone echoed around her, warm, familiar, and comforting.
"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, Savvy?" The charming pirate grinned at the Navy. Ah, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was on. Danielle hugged herself and just willed him to keep talking. How long had it been since she had heard his voice? Years! A passing infatuation during her teen years was what she had told her family, and tried to convince herself. But she always knew that it was more than that. That roguish captain had charmed her heart and soul, and never failed to make her heart flutter rapidly, even if it was only for stolen moments here and there. She would catch a snippet of the movie, a moment like this, when she was skimming the T.V. It had been so long. Too long. She sighed dreamily, her arms still around herself, wrapped in her favorite comfy light blue sweater. On the screen, Jack was staring out towards the ocean, an mysterious grin playing about his lips. Dimly, Danielle heard Will ask "Tortuga?" and Jack confirmed in that heart stopping voice of his: "Tortuga." Danielle didn't know what compelled her, but suddenly she found herself forgetting whatever she had been doing. She found herself getting up off the couch and trailing her fingers along the close up of Jack's face.
"It's been too long Jack" she whispered. "Far too long." She smiled slightly, hearing herself, and pulled her fingers away. The image of Jack remained on the screen, eyes on the sea. Her brow furrowed, as she knew that the shot couldn't be this long, and that the scene should be shifting. Danielle laughed as she realized that she must have paused it. Then Danielle began to shake. She couldn't have paused it. It was on T.V. Danielle sunk down in her chair. That settled it. Her T.V and remote were officially broken. As if she didn't have enough to worry about! I don't even want to think about how much I'll have to pay to get that fixed. Danielle moaned and rubbed her forehead. She pressed random buttons on her remote. The image of Jack stayed stubbornly put. "Seriously!" she complained out loud, and, with a frustrated groan, buried her face in her pillows. "Why do you torture me?" she yelled up at the ceiling. "I. Can. Never. Have. Him." But there was only silence to answer her. Her angry glare then moved from the ceiling back to the T.V. It was like the universe conspiring against her. There was a reason she avoided the movies like the plague after she got her job and her apartment. She didn't even have her own copies of the DVD's because she was teased so badly about her obsession as a teen, she wanted everyone to think she was over it. Danielle didn't even want to think about how many times during many a bad day she was tempted to run out and by all four movies and watch them until she fell asleep. Her angry stare unconsciously softened as she studied Jack's profile, and her heart ached. Danielle's hazel eyes hardened then, and she whispered resolutely: "He's not real!" And then again louder, as if to truly convince both herself and the rest of the world. "He's not real!" she repeated forcefully. And then suddenly, something extraordinary happened. The Jack on the screen moved. At first, Danielle was relieved. Yes! T.V is working again! I guess yelling at it really does work Danielle told herself, knowing perfectly well that she had not been talking the T.V into working again. She had been talking to Jack. And the Jack on the screen did something then that was not at all expected. He turned from his dramatic pose and looked directly into her eyes. Electricity seemed to crackle and snap in the air around them. Danielle felt goosebumps rise up on her arms, despite the sweater she had on. She rubbed her forearms gently, trying to reassure herself that it was all part of the movie. Since she hadn't seen the movie in a while, it was completely logical that she wouldn't remember parts of it. Stop lying to yourself! Danielle scolded herself. You know you could recite this movie forwards and backwards. There is no way that was a part of the movie… Her frantic thoughts darted around in her head like race horses on a race track. If it's not a part of the movie…then what the hell just happened?! She looked anywhere but at the screen. Danielle took deep breaths, playing with a loose thread of her sweater. Gathering her courage, she faced the screen again. This time it was black. Danielle fell off the couch in her attempt to get away from her television. This was getting way too strange. She would have to call someone to look at it ASAP. This was doing horrific things to her poor nerves! Danielle somehow ended up on the floor, pushing her silky hair out of her face, eyes wide with fright, backing away from the T.V as quickly as possible. It was then that her back hit something solid. She whirled around, face to face with a pair of black, weather-beaten black boots.
"Danielle, love. It's been too long indeed."