Wow... it took me a while, but I finally spewed this one put. I think it's a bit dragging, but... HEY! at least it's an update. I hope to get the bulk of the action after this, so please just be patient.

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Eight

Rejection

Jack was being pinned to his mattress by the most annoying drunk he had ever met. She pushed down on his shoulders, proving that she was much stronger than her tiny figure cared to show. She unwrapped his belt, tore at his shirt, and plucked open the buttons of his pants. An innocent kiss had turned into the night from hell.

He grabbed Trinity's hands and shoved her back, pushing her off to the side to allow himself to escape her grasp. "Woah, woah there, Lovie..." he protested as she advanced on him once more. Maybe rum wasn't the best idea.

She forcefully grabbed the back of his head and planted her lips on top of his. He was sucked back in again. First it was just an innocent brushing of skin, but it turned passionate the moment her tongue slipped through his lips and coaxed his into hers. Her mouth parted the moment she got what she wanted and traveled south, down to his collar bone. He leaned back against the wall, noticing that she was nipping at his skin with the tips of her teeth. He hated it. He loved it. He hated that he loved it. He shouldn't have been enjoying it. He was her ward, even though he had stated earlier that she wasn't. He shouldn't be having these types of relations with his ward. She was only a girl... although she seemed to know, quite well, what she was doing. Still, she was only a girl. A lovely girl… but had that ever stopped him before. Come to think of it, had he known the age of over half the woman he had slept with? Probably not.

Again he pushed her away. "Lovie, let's think rationally, alright? You hate me, remember," he argued, pleading with her to stop. He wasn't sure why, but the whole situation just seemed wrong to him. That had never stopped him before. What was stopping him now? "I put that dreadful goat in your care. I cut up your dress. I bought you."

Trinity stopped, glared at him with the intensity of a rampaging bull, and kicked him right between the legs. He crumpled to the ground as she stormed out.

oOoOoOo

Trinity woke up the next morning in a cold sweat. Her head pulsated in sync with her heartbeat, and her entire body felt tense and rigid. She sat up, quickly realizing that sudden movements weren't a good idea. "Blargggghhhhh," she groaned, doubling over and clamping her head between her legs.

Dani, sitting cross-legged on the deck, saw Trinity stirring and ran to her side, making sure to make as much noise and possible. She grabbed a bucket of sea water Marty was carting around and threw it on her, screaming a "Good morning, sunshine," as she watched her cough and shiver.

"WHADDYADOTHAFOR!" Trinity groaned again, seizing up into a ball and falling back onto her side. She had finally opened her eyes fully, aware that there was an extremely bright light irritating her headache further. The sun. "Where'm I?"

"On deck. I'll tell you, you can sleep! The crew has been working around you all morning, they have." She laughed, talking as loud as she could. She sat there for hours, just staring at Trinity with the wide eyes of a curious child. "You know, I've never witnessed an alcohol-virgin's first hangover. It's quite amusing, it is."

Trinity, finding some of her senses finally coming back, sneered at her. "I'm glad I could entertain you."

Dani stood, placed her hands on her hips, wiping the smile off her face. "You made a fool of yourself, didn't you? Is that why good ol' Jack is holed up in his cabin? Hasn't come out all morning."

She shook her head violently, shaking back the memories of the night before. She couldn't remember a thing, and the way Dani was talking she didn't particularly want to, although a particular aching in her foot was troubling her. Shakily, she stood and tried to regain her sea legs.

It had been days since she had been on the deck, not counting the other night - which she had apparently missed in a drunken stupor. The rocking of the ship was making her stomach lurch as she threw herself over the railing to quickly throw up. With the simple expository movements, it all came flooding back to her. Jack had offered her an escape from her reality, and she had offered him herself. Her entire self. And he refused her, finally claiming that he owned her.

The thought alone angered her, but she couldn't really blame him. After all, Trinity had known that the moment she stepped foot on Jack's ship, that her life adventure was going to unfold. Hers. Not anyone else's. She had no right to ask Jack to join his own adventure with hers.

A hand brushed against her back, rubbing the aching spot vomiting had irritated, between her shoulder blades. If anyone, she thought to kind gesture would have come from Jack, but it didn't surprise her when she turned to see the smiling face of the one who had brought her aboard the ship in the first place. Kydd. His face was smeared with dirt, his hair was matted, but his smile had only expressed happiness. "I was a bit of a lightweight my first time, too."

"Excuse me?"

"The rum. It can run right though you if you don't pace yourself."

The sight of the young boy made a smile tug at the corners of her lips. Although, she never actually smiled. "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you."

He nodded. "How about I take you to the galley with me and we fetch you something to eat, eh?"

Trinity looked to Dani for advice, but received a shrug in return. "I think I'll try my hand at coaxing Ol' Jackie out of his hiding spot," she added, turning and heading towards Jack's cabin.

Kydd offered Trinity his arm, then led her down into the galley where he was preparing dinner for the rest of the men. She took a seat at one of the round tables in the corner of the room, while Kydd searched around in cupboards. He pulled out a small barrel of apples, then offered her one. "Technically, they're Barbossa's. But I don't think he'll mind. Not for you."

"You're sweet, Kydd. Really."

Kydd smirked, taking an apple for himself and biting into it. "You know, my real name isn't Kydd. That's my sea name. My real name is… well, that's in the past." He hesitated for a moment, his bright smiling fading for a second. Only a second, though. "What's your sea name?"

Trinity finished the bit of apple in her mouth, gently covering her mouth with her hand. The thought of talking with her mouth full would have horrified her a couple of weeks ago. Now, it didn't phase her a bit. "I haven't really thought of one…"

Kydd leaned back in his chair, focusing on her for a second. "You don't think of a sea name! It's usually has something to do with your most prominent feature. Take for instance, 'Blackbeard'. My name's Kydd…well, because I look young." The legs of his chair left the ground, rocking precariously on only two. "You… your eyes, I would say….hmmm…" The rocking of the ship threatened to tip him over, but he leaned back forward again, bringing the legs crashing with a 'thud'. "Green Eyes. Simple and memorable."

Trinity flushed, never thinking that there was anything special about her before. She had been told that she had exquisite eyes on other occasions, but she had always come out of the conversation feeling just as plain as ever. But the way Kydd said it… the way it just flowed off his lips in such a fluid fashion… she couldn't help but be a flattered in every way shape and form.

"What say you?" he asked, tilting his head as a childish expression crossed his face.

"I say that it's perfect," she replied, standing. "You seem to be dependable, Kydd. Can I ask you a question? Do you find me… attractive?"

Kydd's smile disappeared. "Depends. Attractive when?"

"I don't understand."

"Well, there's different kinds of attractive, I think. The moment I saw you in that big house, with those fancy clothes… I would have to say no. You were too intimidating then, making me thinks you were better than me even if those weren't your intentions. Right now, however, I'd say you look gorgeous. Normal, real. Aside from the vomiting, of course."

"Of course," she repeated.

"Yeah, well, last night was a doosey for you, huh?"

"To tell you the truth, I don't remember last night at all."

Kydd rolled his eyes, taking a large gulp from the mug in front of him. "I don't see why you would want to remember even if you could…"

She squinted at him, thoroughly confused with his statements. "Kydd, what did happen last night?"

Kydd paused, thinking about whether he should be getting himself involved. "Well, Jack gave you some rum, and you loosened up a little bit. Then he gave you a little more… and you got a little… handsy. Then he gave you some more… and well… you were basically lookin' to smooch anyone you came in contact with."

Trinity's hands flew to her face, trying to hide her embarrassment. "Oh, God…"

"Lucky Jack rescued you…"

"Rescued me?"

"Yeah, rescued you," he repeated. "Barbossa was pulling you away from the group, and Jack stopped him. He gave the rest of the men orders not to touch you cause you were obviously not right in the head… then you got mad over something, kept yelling something about a bloke named Edmund. You stormed off into Jack's cabin, and Jack went to settle you. Then, we're not really sure what happened. You came onto the deck when the men were finishin' up their last game 'o cards and the last of the rum, curled yourself into a ball, and fell asleep."

"Oh… God…!" Trinity groaned, falling to her knees. "Oh, God!"

Kydd brought his brows together in the middle of his forehead. "What are you going on about?" he asked, awkwardly standing behind her.

She ignored him, standing as rushing out of the galley. "I have to go," she announced as she left, running as fast as she could to Jack's cabin.

oOoOoOo

Jack paced to one side of the room, pivoted slightly and measured his steps until he came to a wall. It was all he really thought of to do, count. Five pens in the room. Two bottles of ink. Forty two bottles of empty rum. Seven bandanas. Twelve rings on his fingers. One pace, two paces, three paces, four…

He was so, completely and utterly bored.

But he wasn't sure if she was gone yet.

Usually, Jack found that he had no shame. It was one of the qualities that he admired about himself the most. It was almost like not having a conscious. Almost. Last night, however, was one of the few times in his life where he couldn't sit idly by and watch his bad deeds take action on their own. He had to speak up. He had to say something, although he hadn't necessarily wanted to. It was so uncharacteristic of him. It left a bad taste in his mouth. Bad enough that he stuck out his tongue in revulsion.

It was still there.

Jack reached up and tried wiping the taste off his tongue with his hand. It did nothing. He rubbed harder. Still nothing.

With one hand, he pulled his tongue out of his mouth as far as it would go. He took a quill from the nearby desk and started sweeping his tongue with its sharp feathers. It seemed to work… sort of. He put the pen down and started scratching at his tongue.

He could still taste her.

He started to grown, his fingernails digging into his taste buds. The more pain, the less he could concentrate on the flavor sensations.

Dani walked through the door, immediately sorry she did so. "Jack? What's wrong with your mouth?"

Jack stopped his scratching, tongue still in hand. He fell backwards onto the bed, his hands falling to his sides. The taste was gone. Had he imagined it? Or had he simply destroyed one of his senses?

Dani scrunched her face at him. "Are you all in there? In the head?"

"What!" Jack barked in annoyance.

Dani stepped back, her hands in the air. "Whoa there. Now what did I do to deserve a snap like that? Surely you must be mistaken with your company. Fortunately for you, I'm willing to overlook your tone."

"And why would you do that, Danielle?" Jack asked in response, propping himself up on his elbows. She was right, he had no real reason to yell at her. He was captain though, damn it, and he could take his anger out on whoever he wanted!

" 'Cause you look like shit," Dani smiled, always finding their little talks amusing. "And your upper class virgin out there doesn't look like all too much better," she added.

"She's not mine!" Jack yelled.

"Exactly," she continued to smile.

"What?" he asked again, his tone softening. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Dani laughed to herself, a private joke that only she knew. "Oh, Jacky," she sighed, the corners of her mouth settling into a omniscient grin. "You can't pull the wool over my eyes. I'm a woman, and I know you all too well."

"You don't know me that well…" Jack mumbled, pulling himself away from the conversation on account of confusion.

"You bet your ship I know you. And you, Jack Sparrow, are not in possession of her," she retorted, placing her hands on her hips and walking back out into the sunshine. "No matter how many shillings you paid for her…"

Jack closed his eyes, squeezing his face as close to center as possible. Dani was right, and he had just not figured it out. Well, some of it.

Jack had known all along that Trinity was only a quest to him. Last night, he could have ended his quest and started another. But he didn't want to. He couldn't.

Most of the women Jack had made it a point to have relations with were completely head over heels for him. At least, they were after they were completely sloshed and unable to see properly. Even so, said women were usually jaded afterwards as well, still believing his dodgy words with sober ears. "I love you" meant nothing to him. At least, it hadn't meant anything yet.

Last night, Trinity had been head over heels for him, but it wasn't her. It was the rum. Otherwise, she didn't even like him very much. He would even go as far as to say that she seemed to loathe him at times.

Dani tapped her foot impatiently. "Should I leave you alone with your thoughts or…"

"Dani, just what exactly are you getting at?"

She smiled as if to give his question some importance. "You know."

"That's completely irresolvable. Unfeasibly, impractically ridiculously out of the question."

Dani laughed heartily. "Maybe in the past, Jacky. Things do change, ya know." She turned to leave, her hand resting on the door as she looked over her shoulder. "You look at her differently, Jack. I've seen it."

Jack propped himself up on his elbows. "Different than what?"

"Different than you looked at other girls," she spoke as she turned back to the door. The door to the cabin opened and, as Dani left, Trinity entered.

She stood frozen for a moment, her eyes lingering on Jack's for what seemed an eternity. She held her hands tightly together in front of her, letting him know that she was there only to talk and nothing more. She waited, one foot hovering in the air as she planned to move further into his cabin.

Jack couldn't move. He saw her panic, her humiliating embarrassment at her recollection of what had taken place. He couldn't move. He only looked at her, blinking every once and a while.

Trinity collected herself, knowing that she was going to have to make the first move. "Jack," she greeted, bowing curtly as she remembered her manners.

Jack stuck his tongue out again, the bad taste still lingering. He suppressed his urge to scratch as his taste buds. "Trinity."

"A word with the captain?"

Jack smiled, bowing slightly himself. "A humble captain at your service, madam." He, too, knew how to play the proper card. Where there was etiquette, there was no room for awkwardness. "Permission to speak freely."

Unknowing what exactly to say, Trinity spoke the first thought that came to her mind. "Just when is this adventure getting underway, Captain? I remember being promised adventure, excitement, and all that. I have to say, being trapped under deck with a goat is not my idea of a good time."

"Nor mine," Jack responded.

Trinity found herself laughing, although she tried to suppress it. It was no use. She let her giggles bounce freely around the cabin. "So where would this adventure be?"

Jack walked over to his desk, pushing things aside as he waved for Trinity to follow. "I've been working on this all day, Trinity. This, here, are the shipping maps for trade routes. Many ships follow the same path back and forth between two points. Familiarity and comfort with those parts of the ocean, sea. Since we desperately find ourselves in need of provisions and finds - which we could not obtain in Tortuga - we'll simply have to intercept one of the aforementioned ships and… persuade them to help us."

"You mean a raid?"

"Kind of, sort of. Yeah."

"And how exactly are we supposed to find the exact location of such a ship, captain?"

"Ah, Lovie, that is the question," Jack grinned, pointing a finger in her face. "That, Lovie, is where you will see the true magic that the Black Pearl has to offer."