Disclaimer: See chapter one. 'Dreams' is a Cranberries song.

Warnings for this chapter: Dreams...angst maybe.

AN: I wrote this, then...my fuckin' floppy died!! On this story only! I had to rewrite the whole damned thing, so some stuff's been added, some's changed, and some's probably missing. I cut it shorter than it was, and decided to put the ending scene as the beginning scene of the next part. How annoying. Also, for those of you that keep buggin' me about Crimson Ways, I have it half way done--I just have to write myself out of the corner is all.

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Dead End Angels

Dreams

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Will was frolicking with the purple octopi and green jackelopes if the fields below Fig Newton Mountain. He had given up on teaching Susie, the octopus with freckles, how to knit origami, so he went in search of a stick to beat the red gnome at marbles with. He was looking around the base of a boulder when the scene around him faded into a different.

It was strange. Will felt completely awake, but he was almost certain that he'd been sleeping moments ago. He was conscious enough to remember how pointless his last dream was. He wondered if this was what it was like to sleepwalk. Perhaps that's what was happening.

He looked around at his surroundings. He was in what appeared to be a workshop of sorts. There were swords hanging all around the dimly lit room. There was something familiar about the place. To his side stood a donkey hooked up to some sort of contraption. Will stepped past it and saw a tubby old man asleep on a chair in the corner. 'Right where I left you,' he heard himself say. It was really his voice, but he didn't think much about it. He ventured further into the room and came a across a hammer lying atop an anvil. 'Not where I left you.' His gaze shifted over and caught sight of a hat. He reached to get a closer look at it, but his hand was promptly smacked by a sword.

Will awoke with a start. He was gasping for air as if he'd just run a marathon. He looked around; he was no longer in the dusty room, but back in his own. He didn't think that dreams were supposed to be that real. At least, he'd never had any so realistic before. And the part that got him was that his hand stung from where the sword hit him. He flicked on the light that sat on the nightstand next to his and examine the back of his right hand. It was slightly reddened where he'd been hit. He searched around himself for something that he could've whacked his hand on during his sleep, but there was nothing.

He glanced at the digital clock. It was five in the morning. There was no way that he'd be able to get back to sleep in time for it to be worth anything, so he sat in his bed and stared at the wall, contemplating what had just happened. He wondered who could've hit him. Was it even important that he found out?

He kept repeating the dream over and over in his head. It was so clear. He could remember all the little details. The dust and humidity in the air, the smell of alcohol that drifted from the man in the corner, but mostly the feel of the cool metal from the sword coming in contact with his skin. He traced the red mark with his finger.

The morning drifted by slowly for Will, and the time for him to head for school eventually came. He arrived early and went straight to his locker to dump off his books. He was about to close the door when something white caught his attention. A white cotton ball with googley eyes was hanging from one of the hooks with a hemp string tied off as a noose. His hand guided itself to the white fluff, but was smacked away by a red transparent ruler. Will took his hand back in shock and turned to see who hit him as the world around him melted into the one from his dream.

Before him stood a roughed up version of what looked to be Captain Morgan in eyeliner. The man had a sword pointed at Will--he immediately recognized it as the one from his dream. Just as quickly as the vision came, it left.

Will's knees gave out, and he fell to the floor, clutching his head. He could feel something under his chin, tilting his head upward. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Jack looking at him with great concern.

'You OK?' Jack asked. He offered Will a hand to help him up.

'Yea...I'm fine,' he replied, gratefully accepting Jack's help. Once up, he leaned back on the lockers, not fully trusting himself to stand.

'Don't lie. People don't just fall down without a reason,' Jack said. 'So what's wrong with you?'

'Nothing's wrong with me.'

'Then what just happened?'

'I...I'm not exactly sure.'

'Then you have an idea of what happened.'

'No, I don't.'

'Yes, you do. You just said that you weren't exactly sure of what happened, which implies that you have an idea of what happened,' Jack stated. 'So you should tell me what you think happened, and then we'll compare notes and find out what's wrong with you.'

Will shook his head to distract himself from Jack's dancing hands. Can't he sit still for one minute?!

'Hey. Hey!'

'What?'

'Maybe I shoulda hit your head with this instead,' Jack said as he tapped the ruler on Will's head.

Will shut the locker door and walked off. 'Leave me alone.'

Jack ignored Will's request and followed him. 'Come on. Just tell me what's wrong. It'll help.'

'No, it won't. And nothing's wrong!'

'It always helps to talk about things with your friends.'

'Exactly. Friends. If I wanted to talk about anything important, I'd talk to either my friends or my parents. Not you. What makes you think I'd spill my heart out to you? I barely even know you!' Will said in a low tone then brushed past Jack.

Jack was shocked to say the least. It was true. They barely knew each other, but Jack felt a certain connection with Will. He stared ahead, trying to figure out what to make of the situation. Should he pursue Will? Try again at lunch? He looked up at a clock hanging on the wall. It was a good fifteen minutes before class, so he made up his mind to just go home for the day and not even bother.

Will waited outside the school for Elizabeth to show up. In the distance, he could hear a bell. He turned to see Jack stalking towards the center of the parking lot.

Jack got into his car and took a few deep breaths to calm himself. He couldn't understand why he was getting so worked up over a pretty face. More so than usual. He started up his car and left.

Will watched as Jack's car left. Where's he going? I didn't think I was that hard on him... He was pulled from his thoughts by Elizabeth calling to him as she parked her car nearby.

'Hey... Is something wrong?' she asked when she approached him.

'Everything's fine,' he answered. 'I just told Jack off for sticking his nose where it should be. I think he took it harder than I intended...'

'Oh? And what was that?' Elizabeth asked as the walked towards the school.

'Well, something happened, and Jack wouldn't stop prying.'

'What happened?'

'I had a weird dream this morning,' he replied. 'And then I was back in it for a second when I was standing in front of the locker.'

'Why couldn't you tell him that that's what happened?' she asked.

'Because... I don't know,' Will admitted.

'You should apologize for chewing him out,' Elizabeth suggested as they entered their classroom.

Will nodded submissively. 'I know.'

'So tell me about your dream!'

'First, there was a hat and I went to pick it up, and a sword hit my hand. Then I woke up,' he explained. 'When I got to school, Jack hit my hand with a ruler, and that's when my dream came back. Instead of Jack standing in front of me, there was this strange looking man...wearing eyeliner.'

'I know what's wrong with you.'

'You do?'

'Yeah. You're crazy.'

'Oh, gee. Thanks,' Will said sarcastically. 'Remind me never to confide in you.'

'Never confide in me,' she replied with a grin. 'Anyway, maybe your dream means that you shouldn't trust Jack with swords.'

Will rolled his eyes at Elizabeth. 'I don't think he should be trusted with anything.'

Lunch time rolled around and Will waited by the locker for Jack to appear, but he didn't. He remembered seeing Jack leave, but he assumed that he was going to come back. He went to his next class then waited by the locker again for his free period. There was still no sign of Jack.

He'd become so stressed about Jack that he'd forgotten about the test in Mr. Gibbs's class. True to his word, Gibbs only put one question on the test: 'What is the title of the first chapter?' Only a handful of students had answered correctly ('Introduction'). They had gotten it correct because they had only skimmed over the titles and subtitles of the chapter. Will only remembered because he'd been staring at the title the whole period the day before. School ended, and Will went home. Because he had gotten up so early, he went to bed early. With sleep came another dream.

Will was back in the dusty room, staring at the roughed up Captain Morgan. At least, he thought he was. He was also staring at himself--an older and slightly different looking self, but still himself. The other man was revealed to be a pirate--that explained his appearance. A scene played out before him where he and the other man performed a bit of sword play. The pirate bid his farewell, and as he reached the door, Will, the other him, threw his sword at the door, effectively trapping the pirate. Another, much longer sword fight played out. Will kept his eyes on the pirate, completely entranced by him. He seemed so familiar. Something about the way he moved.

In the end, the pirate cheated. The other Will blocked the back exit. There were shouts from the other side of the front entrance, and the pirate pleaded for him to move. From behind the pirate, the tubby old man from the corner hit him over the head with a bottle. He fell to the ground unconscious just as the men from outside burst through the door.

The one that seemed to be the leader loomed over the pirate's prone figure. 'I trust you'll always remember this as the day that Captain Jack Sparrow almost escaped,' he said.

Will awoke back in his room. He had broken out in a cold sweat and his was entangled within his sheets. He sat up and went over his dream. 'Jack...Sparrow,' he said aloud. That's what he called the pirate... Isn't Jack's last name Sparrow?

He looked at the clock; it was three in the morning. Will sighed and lay back down. He stared at the ceiling, wondering what his dream could possibly mean. He made a note to run by the library after school and see if they had any books on dreams. He eventually fell back into a dreamless sleep.

That day at school, there was still no sign of Jack. Will waited in vain by the locker, worrying about Jack. He hated to admit it, but he missed him and didn't know why. Will left school that day feeling miserable. He remembered to stop by the library and check out a few books on dreams. Will read through them that night, but couldn't find anything that explained the dreams he'd had. The definitions on colors and objects were of no use to him, so he'd hit a dead end.

He gave up and went to bed early, hoping that he'd have the dream again. But it never came. Will awoke the next morning completely rested but unfulfilled.

Why didn't I have the dream? Will sat at the kitchen table, poking at his breakfast. He kept asking himself the question over and over. It started after I met Jack... Maybe he's the key to all this. I wonder...if I saw him today, would I have the dream again? It seemed like a stupid theory at the time. He'd only had the dream twice, but it happened when he'd been in contact with Jack the day before. He didn't know what he'd do if he couldn't see what happened next in the dream. He was impatient to know, and he didn't want to go the whole weekend without knowing. He also wanted to see Jack. Talk to him. Get to know him better. A lot better... Dammit!! Don't think like that!

Will waited for Jack by the locker, but he never came. Will headed off to class, completely forgetting to wait for Elizabeth. He was folding a piece of notebook paper into an origami ball when someone knocked him upside the head with a folder. 'Ow!! Watch it!'

'Where were you?!'

'What...?' Will looked up to see Elizabeth glaring down at him. 'I'm sorry! I forgot,' he apologized. 'My mind's been on other things.'

'What kind of things?' she asked as she took her seat.

Will averted his eyes to his origami, a faint tinge of red covering his cheeks. 'Just things.'

Elizabeth leaned closer. 'As in your boyfriend?' she asked in a teasing whisper.

Will's blush became more apparent. 'N-no! He's not... I'm not... I'll tell you later.'

Elizabeth sighed and slid back into her seat. Why's he gotta be so difficult? Men. 'You'll tell me at lunch then?'

'Fine.'

The moment lunch came Elizabeth dragged Will to the school's front lawn and led him under a tree. 'So? What's up?'

Will sat down and leaned against the tree. 'It's complicated.'

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. 'Just tell me and get it off your chest. You'll feel better; I guarantee it.'

'Well, it started with this dream I had...' Will described every detail from his dream. 'I've looked into books, but they don't say anything useful. And I know that my dream's important.'

Elizabeth smiled warmly at him. 'When I was going through my dream phase I found a really neat book. It's more about why we have dreams than dissecting. I found it quite interesting. Lots of stuff in it. I know! I'll loan it to you,' she said. 'But that can't be your only problem.'

Will bit his lip and looked down. She'll just keep pestering me if I don't tell her, and she'll pester me if I do. I hate these kind of decisions. He looked back up at her. 'Well... The first time I had the dream was the night after I met Jack. I saw Jack the next day and had the dream again that night. Then yesterday, I didn't see Jack, and I didn't have the dream. And I...I kinda liked having the dream. I want to see how it ends,' Will explained.

'Then all you have to do is visit Jack, right?'

'V-visit? What do you mean by that?'

'As in go up to his door, knock, and then jump him and proclaim your undying love for him,' she said with a straight face.

'What?! I'm doing no such thing!'

'If you want to have that dream again, then you'd better go see Jack.'

'I don't even know where he lives. So there,' Will said, daring Elizabeth to get past that road block. He stood up and dusted the dirt off himself.

'No problem,' she said with a smile. 'He's sure to have left something in the locker with his address on it.' She took off back towards the school before Will could stop her.

'Wait! Don't you dare, Elizabeth!!' Will ran after her, but he was too late.

When he caught up she already had the locker open and was sifting through Jack's shelf. 'Aha! Found it,' she cried triumphantly as she pulled out Jack's schedule and held it out of Will's reach. 'If they're so keen on keeping people's addresses private, then they shouldn't slap them on the schedules.'

'Lizzie, it's rude to go through other someone's personal things! Now, give me that!' He made a reach for the schedule, but Elizabeth kept it just out of Will's reach.

'Why? Are you going to visit him and see how he's doing? He's been missing from school, so you don't have to worry about having an excuse.'

'I...' She's right. I do have a good excuse to see him. He stopped trying to grab the schedule from Elizabeth and thought about his options.

'I'll go with you,' Elizabeth added.

'Fine.'

'Great! So where does he live?' She looked over the address and cocked her head to the side. 'This is where those new apartments are. I know where that is.'

'Where?'

'South,' she replied, pointing east.

Will sighed and snatched the schedule from her. 'Class is about to start. I'll see you later.' He trudged off to his class, leaving an overly ecstatic Elizabeth behind.

The rest of school went by all too quickly for Will as the anticipation built up. He was beginning to regret agreeing with Elizabeth. Maybe I'll get lucky, and he won't be there, he thought as he followed Elizabeth to her car. He watched Elizabeth jump in and look at him expectantly. At least she's coming with me. He slowly got into the passenger seat and hugged his backpack as if it were a lifeline.

Elizabeth started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. At a stop light, she looked over to Will. 'Don't be nervous,' she said soothingly. 'I'm sure he likes you, too. My soldier of love instinct tells me so.'

'I don't like him like that!' And I doubt he likes me like that either. Why should he? He turned up the radio to try and drown out his thoughts.

Elizabeth sped through the streets, singing off key to the words she knew and humming the rest. After a few wrong turns, they made it to their destination.

Will got out and looked at Elizabeth. 'Well?'

'Well what?'

'Aren't you coming?' he asked.

'I came, I saw, and now I'm leaving,' she said. 'Besides, I have dry cleaning waiting for me, and they get all pissy if you're late.'

'But you said you'd come!'

'This is something you need to do on your own, Will.'

'But--'

'Do you really need me to hold your hand to knock on a door?'

'No.'

'Good. Just call me when you're ready to be picked up.'

Will nodded.

'Bye!' She stepped on the gas and was out of sight within seconds.

'Bye...' Will turned around and looked at the apartment complex behind him. He pulled out the folded schedule from his pocket and went looking for Jack's apartment. It didn't take him long, and before he knew it, he was standing on the welcome mat outside apartment 3D. He raised his hand to knock on the door and hesitated. What if he's home? What if he's not? Without really knowing it, he rapped on the door. The pit of his stomach gave an unsettling lurch as he realized what he'd just done.

A few moments passed and there was no answer. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed. He turned to walk away, but as he did, he heard the door open behind him.

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AN II: Death to the evil floppy!! I'm hoping to have the next part out soon.