A/N I've decided that this one will actually be a three parter. A Party in Agrabah will conclude the night and tie up some loose ends. Then I'll move on. Lots of stuff in this chapter. Let me know what you think! XOXO JTD
Five minutes earlier...
Angelica watched Meg bravely walk over to Hercules. She knew how tough this was for her friend. Meg hated confrontation. Angelica sighed.
If Meg could do it, she could do it, too.
She scanned the club and found Jack on the dance floor with some twit. Her heart raced as she got up from the table without explanation and headed toward Jack. She took a deep breath and marched right up to him. She daintily tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around a bit surprised to see her of all people standing there. He smiled.
Angelica knew that Jack smiled at all the ladies but he had a special smile for her. It was a more relaxed and comfortable smile than he used with his other girls. That gave Angelica hope.
"We need to talk, Jack."
He nodded.
"'Scuse me, luv. But I have business to attend to," he said to his dance partner, leaving her alone and frowning.
He took Angelica's hand and led her near the hallway to the bathrooms.
"I'm glad you're here, luv."
She believed he was sincere.
She smiled and blushed.
"You are?"
"I wanted to apologize for misleading you earlier. It was not my intention whatsoever to have Norrington get his hands on you."
"Do you mean that, Jack?"
He winked and nodded.
She smiled like a giddy school girl, in spite of herself. She was not doing a good job of keeping her emotions in check.
"I'm glad to hear you say that, Jack. I've missed you."
"I knew it! You can't fool me."
He leaned in for a kiss. She put a finger to his mouth to stop him. He frowned.
"What I do now, Angelica?"
She smiled.
"I just need to know one thing."
He read her mind. He was not about to have another argument about the same things again. He rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Angelica, I told you before. Casual is all I can offer you right now."
She pursed her lips and clenched her jaw.
"So you're telling me that even though you care for me that you can't be faithful to me, is that it?"
Jack struggled with a response that wouldn't offend her. He did care for her. He really did. But he was gone for weeks at a time. He had needs and so did she...whether she wanted to admit to it or not.
"You are unbelievable!" Angelica shouted before turning around and stomping off to the bar.
He wished Angelica could just let things be the way they've always been. He never let emotions get in the way of his fun. Why couldn't she be like that?
His thoughts were interrupted when Hercules bumped into him, causing him to lurch a little.
"Sorry," Hercules angrily said before stomping off, not bothering to look Jack in the eye.
Jack grimaced. He wondered what had Hercules all in a huff. No doubt it had to do with a girl. Jack sighed knowing that all men's problems stemmed from that which vexes all men...a woman.
Jack was just about to head back on the dance floor and continue his first night out on the town when he heard whimpering coming from the hallway. It sounded like someone was crying. He walked toward the sound and was surprised to see Angelica's irritatingly sarcastic friend Meg with her head up against the wall, sobbing. So he was right. Hercules was in a huff over a girl.
"Well, I hate to see a pretty girl cry," he whispered leaning up against the wall next to her.
She looked over to him, wiping the tears away with her forearm.
"What do you want, Sparrow?"
"Oh nothing. Just wondering why a tough girl like you could be crying her bloody eyes out."
"I don't really think that's any of your business."
Meg tried to make a run for it but Jack blocked her path. He stood over her, so intimidating. The look in his dark eyes gave her chills. She could see why Angelica couldn't shake her feelings for him and how Esmeralda got herself into a one-night stand with him. She kept her composure and stared back at him, not breaking face.
"Ah that may be but I guarantee you, 'ol Jack can assist you in your troubles."
"Wow. Good for you. I'm so impressed. Now if you'd just get out of my way."
"What's your hurry, luv?"
He put his hand on her shoulder. If his stare gave her chills, his touch gave her the shivers. What was it about Jack Sparrow that had girls literally weak at the knees? He was just an ordinary guy. There was nothing overly special about him. Meg's eyes studied him, hard, looking for some reasonable explanation as to why her friends went gaga over him.
"What are you doing, luv? I don't like that look in your eye."
"Just trying to find what Angelica sees in you."
He frowned.
No girl insulted Jack Sparrow like that.
"You wound me, Meg."
"Only my friends call me Meg. And you are not my friend."
"Yet."
She furrowed her brow and pursed her lips.
"You want to know what Angelica and all the other lovelies see in me, eh?"
Meg hadn't noticed that he was cornering her until her back hit the wall. She felt trapped but she couldn't bring herself to move away or try and fight it. He was to intriguing.
"Allow me to demonstrate," he whispered before his lips collided with hers.
She definitely wasn't expecting such a bold move. She put her arms up to protest but he caught her wrists with his hands. He leaned against her, crushing her between him and the wall. His mouth explored hers and she was more than willing to let him. His enchanting demeanor and persuading lips were clouding her otherwise good judgment. Meg was powerless to stop him and at the moment she was content with that.
But in the back of her mind she knew that Angelica would never forgive her for this.
Angelica on the other hand was taking shots and that bar to forget yet another altercation with Jack. After her fourth shot of Patron she was feeling pretty good. She turned around to face the club and assess the temperature. The dance floor was crowded. She spotted Esmeralda, the professional, trying to teach Flynn a few moves. Will was on the dance floor with some redhead whom Angelica assumed was the infamous Anya.
"Having fun, Ang?"
She turned to the direction of the voice and saw Jasmine hanging on Sinbad.
"Yeah. Looks like you're having a blast, Jas."
She winked and laughed with her friend. Sinbad whispered something into Jasmine's ear and she blushed and giggled. Angelica thought she was going to throw up. She turned her attention back to the dance floor only to come face to face with her brother.
Uh oh.
"Jasmine! What are you doing?" Clopin angrily asked pulling at Jasmine's arm.
She pushed him away.
"What I do is none of your business, Clopin!"
Angelica saw where this was going.
"Dude, lay off man!" Sinbad warned.
Sinbad was twice the size of Clopin but that had never stopped him before. Clopin had a temper equal to his sisters'. And he was also very territorial. What was his was his and that was final. To him at least. Jasmine was not having it.
"Jasmine, what about me?"
Before Jasmine could answer, Angelica had to intervene. She had seen this same song and dance before and Clopin somehow always got Jasmine to bow to his wishes.
"No. No. You're not doing this to her again, Clopin! She is not yours anymore! She is allowed to see other men!"
Clopin frowned. But his eyes lit up with anger.
Jasmine gave a grateful smile to her friend and walked away arm and arm with Sinbad, leaving little to the imagination. Angelica saw her brother's intentions. Just before he started to charge after them, she put her hands on his shoulders, pulling him back.
"You don't want to be doing that, brother."
She saw the expression in Clopin's face change. She had calmed him down. She motioned at Aladdin to get him as far away from the bar as possible. She watched Aladdin drag her brother back on to the dance floor and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Well done, Miss Angelica. Or is it Mrs. Sparrow now?"
She turned around to see a very drunk James Norrington addressing her.
"It's Miss Teach to you, sir," she replied sternly.
He chuckled and leaned in to her. He reeked of tequila. She covered her nose in disgust.
"You tell your slimy, no-good lover that he has not seen the last of me, understand?"
He was so close to her face she could have sworn he was about to kiss her. He was looking straight into her eyes. His eyes looked weary and deadened. She wondered how long he had been at the bar doing shots.
"Come on, James. Let's get you home. Sorry, Angelica," Phoebus said coming up from behind James and pushing him toward the exit.
Angelica breathed a sigh of relief, glad that he was gone.
James' freakish vendetta against Jack scared her. She had a sudden need to be near him. She wanted nothing more than to forget words and emotions and just throw herself into his arms and do whatever comes natural. Her eyes frantically scanned the club, darting from one end to the other looking for Jack. She didn't see him. She figured he must still me sulking in the hallway. She ran through the crowd on a mission.
When she reached the hallway her heart stopped. Jack had some girl pinned up against the wall in a very heated and passionate kiss. He had her leg held up against his hip. Her arms were entangled around his neck. Although, Angelica wasn't heartbroken. She expected this from him. He was a manwhore after all. She should have known he couldn't control himself. It was just not something she ever expected to see with her own eyes. Now that she came face to face with Jack's uncontrollable needs, she admitted to herself for the first time that it would never work out between her and Jack. She turned around and walked back into the club, blankly staring ahead of her.
Aladdin found her alone at a table, still staring at nothing in particular. He wondered if she was okay. It surprised him that he had so much concern for her now. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about her since their encounter earlier. It was like suddenly he had new feelings for Angelica that he didn't know were possible. He had been looking for her all night to see how she felt about their kiss and the physical activity that almost followed. But he had gotten sidetracked by Anya's return and then Clopin's humiliation with Jasmine that he hadn't had his chance. But now Anya was busy with Will and Flynn. Clopin found himself a few girls to occupy his time on the dance floor. Aladdin finally had time to sit down with Angelica.
"Hey you."
Angelica shook her head back to reality to see Aladdin take a seat next to her.
"Hey. Having fun?"
"Eh. So. So. You?"
"About the same."
Angelica noticed a change in Aladdin's expression. He had sparkle in his eyes. He looked different to her. She wondered if their kiss earlier had anything to do with it.
"So, um, not to make this awkward, but um...about that kiss..."
Angelica sighed and felt butterflies in her stomach. She felt awful for using Aladdin as a proxy for her pent up emotions.
"I'm so sorry about that! I let it get too far and I shouldn't have! I was mad at Jack and...I let my emotions get the best of me..."
She saw his expression change from glowing to disappointing.
"You're sorry it happened?"
Slowly, she nodded, biting her lip nervously.
"I can see you aren't sorry."
He shook his head adamantly.
"No. No. I'm not. That was an amazing kiss. I haven't been able to get it out of my head."
Angelica looked at the sincerity in his eyes.
"Aladdin, do you...do you feel something for me now?"
He blushed, embarrassed. This was not how he had pictured this conversation going.
"Yeah. I guess I do."
She looked at him and thought to herself. Obviously the possibility of mending fences with Jack was not going to happen. And she would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy her encounter with Aladdin immensely. He was a sweet guy and unlike Jack he would respect her. She saw a potential there that she hadn't seen before. She made a decision.
Her lips met with his, catching him off guard. She put her hands on his face, pulling him in to her. She almost fell out of her chair, but Aladdin was there to catch her, placing her in his lap.
"Wait, I'm not getting tricked or something, am I?" he whispered breaking the kiss.
Angelica groaned.
"Aladdin just shut up and go with it."
And he did.
