Concern

Here is another chapter! Enjoy!

Jim and his friends were all lead back to the ship and were instantly lead downstairs to the brig to be locked up. Poor little Morph was put into a jar so he couldn't escape; one of the pirates was carrying the pink blob while he just whimpered in fear. Lance was walking behind all of them with a proud smile until he noticed that Jim seemed to be limping. "James!" the teenage pirate called out to him.

Jim rolled his eyes at the pirate using his real name but he turned around anyway to see what he wanted. What Lance said caught him completely off guard though. "Why are you limping?"

Jim just blinked in confusion at the sudden question but it quickly turned into a suspicious look. "Why?" The young teenager asks slowly.

The young pirate just shrugs his shoulders, acting like he didn't care. "Just curious" he answers.

Jim just continues to glare at him until Silver began to get fed up with them both. "He sprained his ankle falling down a hill" the cyborg answers for his friend who glares up at him in return for ruining his little game.

Lance rubs his chin in interest as he looks down at the ankle that Jim was not putting pressure on. The young pirate sighs while rolling his eyes too, "Come with me, James" he says in annoyance, motioning with his hands for the boy to follow him.

Jim just blinks in confusion, wondering what Lance was talking about. The pirate got annoyed by the boy just standing there like an idiot so he grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him along, out of the brig.

They walked into the galley, Lance pulled Jim over to a table before letting go of his wrist and walking over to the cabinets while the other boy just stood there in confusion.

Lance pulled out a first aid kit, looking inside it to check if it had everything he needed to fix this teenager's ankle. He nodded his head to himself, satisfied with the first aid kit before closing it and walking back to the confused Jim. "Sit" Lance ordered, putting the first aid kit on the table and opening it up. The boy just blinked in confusion, wondering what this pirate was doing. The young pirate looked back up at the boy with an annoyed look when he saw he was still standing. "I said sit!" he yelled in annoyance making Jim flinch abit.

Jim glared at Lance once he got over the shock from the pirate's sudden yell but he did as he was told and used his hands to boost himself onto the table. The young pirate looked through the first aid kit for something, he smiled to himself once he found it and pulled it out; it was some bandages. Lance kneeed down infront of Jim, looking up at the confused boy who probably thought the pirate was gonna propose since he was on one knee. "Which ankle hurts?" the pirate asks suddenly. Jim must be tired or something because he could have sworn he heard a hint of concern in Lance's voice but it must've been nothing.

Jim blinked a few times to get his thoughts straight before pointing to his sprained ankle, "Um… that one".

Lance just nodded in reply to let Jim know he heard him before taking the boy's boot off causing him to flinch at the pain. The young pirate took his sock off too before he began bandaging around his ankle and foot. Jim just watched him curiously, wondering why he was doing this. Pirates are not supposed to help good boys like Jim then… why was he…?

Lance put the bandages on the floor once he was finished fixing up Jim's ankle. He smiled, proud of his work before standing back up and putting the bandages in the first aid kit. "Um…" Jim started to say, trying to attract the young pirate's attention before continuing. Lance stopped what he was doing and looked up at the boy, clearly annoyed about being interrupted. "Why did you help me?" he finally asks the question that he has been dying to ask the whole time.

Lance looked at the boy for a minute before picking up the first aid kit and turning his back to him. He walked over to the cabinet, putting the first aid kit back where it belonged before finally answering Jim's question. "Because if you have a sprained ankle, you will just slow us all down" he replied in a not-caring tone, still keeping his back to the boy.

Jim looked down at the ground as if there was something else that he has been dying to ask but not sure if he should. Lance didn't seem like the kind of guy that liked people asking him questions about himself but it was worth a try. The pirate couldn't do anything to Jim if he didn't like the question. The young boy looks down at the ground. "Why did you become a pirate?" the youth asks softly, preparing himself for the yelling but it never came. He looks up at the pirate to see his reaction but he still had his back turned to the boy. Jim was beginning to wonder if he even heard the question. Maybe he said it to softly that the pirate couldn't hear it.

"Sometimes… You have to do what you have to do…" Lance softly replied after a few seconds of silence. He sounded really sad and upset when he replied; it was as if he didn't want to talk about it. Kind of like how Jim was about his father.

Jim looks away from Lance, feeling kind of bad for bringing it up even though this pirate did cause him a lot of pain and almost ruined his father/son relationship with Silver but now that Jim had got to finally talk to him, he really didn't seem like a bad guy. He seems to be lost and scared, not having anyone to count on.

It kind of reminded Jim of himself, when he was just a 15 year old boy, feeling lost and alone in the world. Feeling like he wasn't good enough for anyone until he met Silver, the cyborg showed him that he had the making of greatness in him and to believe in himself. Maybe Lance just needs someone to show him the same thing.

"Are you just gonna sit there and daydream because I wanna get you back to the brig before dinner," Lance said, snapping the boy out of his thoughts and bringing him back to reality.

Jim looks back up at the young pirate who had that same not-caring face on, acting as if he had never asked that question but the boy couldn't help but feel sad for the young pirate. "What about your future" he asks, hoping he was not taking these questions abit to far since he knows how he feel when people asks questions about his dad but he just wanted to know more about the young pirate before being locked up in the brig.

Lance just turns his back to the boy again to hide the sad look on his face; he did not want this kid to think he was a wimp. "What future?" the young pirate replied with a hint of sadness in his voice which he hoped Jim didn't hear but of course he did hear it but tried to act as if he didn't.

Jim looks stunned at Lance for a few seconds since he said the exact same thing to his mother as he was walking into the kitchen. Maybe they are more alike than he thought they were. Jim looks down at the ground with a pitiful look, feeling abit bad for Lance. "You know… It's never too late to make things right" he said, looking back at the young pirate for a reaction but he just kept his back to the boy.

Lance turned back around to look at the boy with a sad look and a hint of anger. "I am doing this for a good reason… I'm gonna make him proud" the young pirate replied, "now come" he began walking up the stairs that lead to the deck. Jim looks sad as he watches Lance walk away but he quickly put his boot back on and ran after him. Well… it was more like walking fast since he has a sprained ankle. He knew exactly where they were going.

Lance led Jim down to the brig and locked him up in one of the cells with Silver. Who knows why the young pirate put them together but the boy did feel abit grateful to this kid pirate.

Lance left them without another word, Silver waited until he heard the brig door close before asking the question he has been dying to ask, "What happened, lad?"

Jim sat down on the hard bed, looking down at the ground as he tried to collect all his thoughts before looking back up at his cyborg friend. "Lance is not as tough as he seems".

It seems that even an evil pirate has feelings, lol. I have been planning this scene between Jim and Lance for a while now. I wanted this chapter to show how Lance is kind of like Jim when he was 15. Feeling lost, confused and not having anyone to count on. Even though Lance pretty much ruined the whole voyage for Jim, he seems to want to help him out mostly because this pirate helped him with his ankle.

Please leave a review and tell me what you think!