A.N.: If I owned Potc…I would….but I don't

Chapter XI

I absentmindly fingered my hourglass.

An abrupt gunfire shot jolted surprise which left me hard to breath, my hands shaking uncontrollably.

I was never going to get used to this.

It was the- sixth? No seventh gunshot I have heard since an hour ago.

Rubbing my chest, I tried to suppress my loud beating heart.

We were in a small tavern; upstairs in a small room Jack had successfully bought from the dear drunken owner.

The air here was chokingly unpleasant, a mixture of sweat, sex, alcohol, smoke- whatever it was- filled the entire place. I glanced at the open window, sighing loudly at its uselessness.

A breeze of foul smell entered the room. I growled in defeat and stomped off to the open window and slammed it shut. God we just had to deal with the smell. It was everywhere.

I stalked angrily to the remains of a bed- if you could call it that. Picking up a moth eaten blanket, I threw it disgustedly across the room, biting my lips from wailing. Impossible- I could barely stand here and most definitely would not sleep here. I angrily glared at the bed and suddenly cried out as I spotted a dark shelled insect sluggishly crawling under the graying pillow. Instantly I was five feet away from the bed, close to shrieking my lungs out.

My face was streaming in sweat.

No! No! No!

A filthy bug on the filthy bed.

I refuse!

Swallowing hard, I pushed myself and cautiously inched towards the bed.

This is nonsense, I silently chastised. It's just a bug. It's just a filthy, disgusting, brown, six-legged, swarming, with its long antennas-

 I jumped at the mental image and scrambled away again, wide-eyed staring at the bed.

Breathe before you die, I found mouth wide open but unable to inhale air.

"A problem lass?"

The sound of Jack's voice suddenly woke me up from my paralyzed form. I turned to meet the voice and was unusually glad to see the pirate leaning by the door with a small look of interest.

Trying to regain my posture I croakily replied, "Of course not"

"Oh" The pirate sauntered over to where I stood immobile and looked at me up and down, "You look either scared or certainly not pleased to see me"

"An insect" I managed to say pointing at the bed, "A tremendously huge critter"

The pirate was already closely observing the bed, his kohl lined eyes wide with fascination, "Where?"

"Under the pillow" I courageously took two steps forward.

"Ah" he knelt by the bed's side.

"You found it?" I meekly peeped over his shoulder. He pulled the pillow away.

Nothing

"Where is it?" I shrilly whispered.

The pirate stood up with a shrug.

"I am no way in hell going near that bed" I retreated

"Are you sure?" Jack raised his dark eyebrows.

"Never been so sure in my life" I sniffed

"Well if you insist my lady" he flopped onto the shabby cot and laid, his pose filled with relaxation, "Quite comfortable"

"How could you just lay there?" I shook my head

"It's just a small thing" Jack Sparrow placed his hat over his face, "Not that I favor them land creatures"

I opened my mouth to prove him wrong but I quickly changed my mind.

"So where do I sleep?"

"Anywhere you want love" he stretched his arms and yawned under his hat

"Do you realize you're sleeping with insects- you are absolutely revolting. This place- Tortuga island, I wish I never had set foot on this garbage piece of land. We are miles away from our destination- your bloody ship is gone, and you-you actually have the nerve to just relax and sleep with disgusting bugs! Are you listening to me?"  I laboriously heaved up air.

"No- don't stop- keep talking love- I was just…about….to…go to….sleep" his muffled voice trailed off.

I snatched his hat and gave him the coldest glare I could ever give. Frustrated with the pasted grin on his face, I dropped the hat back to the pirate's damned face and stomped across the room to sit on a chair.

Jack got up, the hat sliding of his face, "You know lass- ye honestly need to relax once in a while. Too many times I have seen that scowl of yours- why not give Captain Jack some good joy and give me one of yer rare smiles?"

"I swear Captain Jack- the only time I will smile is when I get off this bloody island"

"Then we'll just have to wait until then?"

"It seems so"

"I see"

"Good"

"Well lass- I suppose you will be sleeping on the chair then" Jack's eyes dropped to my chair.

"Is there a problem?"

"I'm having a thought here love. I've seen those little critters ye seemed highly disgusted of just a minute ago. What if ye slept and inescapably fell on the ground while ye slumbered? Therefore, ye have two choices right now" he sat straighter, "Ye will be sleeping with insects- or on the bed with an itty weansie insect."

I gaped at him.

Stammering, I knew my face grew bright red, "That thing was not as small as you th-" I screeched at the sight of the bug that casually crawled on the pirate's trousers.

"Ah-" Jack carefully picked the bloody thing up and stared at it with great care, "Run free my friend" and dropped it on the floor.

I sprinted the other way across the room and couldn't stop staring at the insect that dove out of sight.

"Now that the bed is all cleared for the lady to sleep, what say you?"

I edged and sat next to Jack on the bed, my arms crossed, "Where will you rest?"

"That's a good thought my dear" he rubbed his chin, his beads gently swinging.

"A good thought indeed" I scoffed, "Why don't we find somewhere else to stay?"

"You definitely need to have a notch less expectation love," He spread his arms out, "This place is wonderful"

"Wonderful?"

"It has women, rum,-"

"Yes, yes" I exclaimed, "I'm going to sleep"

I shoved him off and plopped down on the bed.

Gosh this pillow was much too hard.

The bed was too lumpy- the blanket was made of wool because its scratchy material annoyed the hell out of me.

Watching me squirm, Jack smiled his famous toothy smile and turned away, "Sweet dreams love"

"Don't count on it" I managed to murmur before the light became blackness.

It was so comfortable.

I sighed happily.

It was warm, soft-

Hard to believe we were in Tort-

Strange.

Yawning, I opened my eyes.

A scream tore from my throat as I jerked off bed, crashing backwards to the hard wooden floor.

Trembling in rage, surprise, humiliation- I don't know what- I slowly stood up to see Jack Sparrow sleeping oh-so comfortably on the bed.

On my bed

Well it had been nice and warm

I nearly gaped in horror at what I just thought.

He was all over me; I shot back at the voice.

If you mean hugging your waist, yes, but it was…nice- sort of, the shy voice took over my reddening face.

Enough.

I turned violently over to the pirate, but stopped seeing the look of peace and serenity in his face.

The savage look I had first saw in him was gone, his dark eyes hidden under his eyelids, his lips softly murmuring incoherent words, his crooked hat drooped at the side of his face. His sculpted face shadowing his high cheekbones- he looked very….calm.

I'd hate to wake him up- but-

"GET OFF MY BED" I hollered in his ear.

"You don't seem like a morning person" I smugly felt happy seeing the grumpy look on Jack Sparrow as he grumbled to himself, making unknown gestures.

"No you see lass, it feels bloody awful if a person screams in your ear while your sleeping" he went explaining his voice unusually high pitched, "and if you fall off bed hard on your bloody arse- of course after that love- you don't seem like a bloody morning person-" he started to mumble.

"Do you know in my culture- in the world of the decent" I felt a surge of anger, "Did you know Captain Jack- the only time a man sleeps on the same bed with a women- they're married"

"Hate to break it to ye lass- but we're in Tortuga- they don't have double bedrooms" shaking his head he brought to hands up

"Well I'm sure you could have at least restrained yourself not to cuddle up with me you prick" I shouted.

Jack froze, slowly grinning to himself, "Now was I?"

That's it.

I shook my fists at him, "Next time you touch me- either while we're just walking down a road, or on bed- you'll be in hell- I swear it"

"You were shivering at night love, the least I could do was share some of me body heat-"

"You took all the blanket" I retorted

He shrugged, "I didn't notice"

"God you're a nuisance"

"Honestly love, I don't know why ye hate me so much"

"You're a pirate" I spat

"Aye- last time I checked"

"Fools don't last very long" I narrowed my eyes

"It's a very good thing that I'm not a fool then, eh?" he grinned.

I was sure my eyes were slits.

He stopped and looked at me squarely in the eye, "Let's call it a truce eh lass? Since it was ye that ended us here in Tortuga and it was I who frightened the poor lady- we're square"

"Make it even eh?" I dangerously whispered, "Who was it that stupidly provoked me" I took another step towards him, "You- sir pirate have been trouble ever since that bloody prison cell where we first met!"

"Well I confess to be the man who provoked, but I am the man who will eventually get us out and free to where ever we shall be going"

"Sure" I snarled, "It's you pirate the law's after only you! I've been innocent from the very start"

"Me and me black marked records ye say?"

"Aye" I yelled

"Clearly, might I say- ye are also a convict by law, escaping prison- oh I so clearly remember"

"And you-" I bit my tongue, "This is absurd- I refuse to even talk with the pirate" I whirled around, my arms crossed.

With a frustrated growl, Jack threw his arms in the air and staggered to me whispering in my ear, "You may keep ignoring me darling but eventually-" he pointed "you'll bend in to me"

What?

He waved merrily good-bye and disappeared behind the door.

Damned that bloody-

I ran after him.