uWow. . .what a lucky author am I to have these great reviews. . .

Thanks josie! Kookaburra. . . hmm. . . proves what I know, lol.

No problem, Jacksrumrunner

The Cap'nOfTheBlackPearl- lots of reviews from you! Thanks!

Argentinian Beauty-Always look forward to your reviews. . . *big cheesy four-year-old smile*

Teenaged Banshee- thanks for this awesome review. . . it was my biggest hope to make Venice and Damian easy to relate to. . . so I'm glad you feel that way.

Love you all! KEEP REVIEWING!

Oh. . . hmmm. . . I promised to write even faster. . . and I LOVED my reviews. . .should be up by Thursday night, then maybe Saturday or Sunday 10 will be up.

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Will's thoughts were interrupted by a scream. Then a high pitched, "JACK!"

Jack's eyes widened. Damian glared at him. Will rushed upstairs, and the other two followed closely behind.

The three boys rushed into Venice's room, seeing Venice standing towards them in front of her closet doors, arms spread out and foot tapping impatiently.

"Jack Sparrow!"

They looked behind the girl, and couldn't help but snort with laughter. Hanging from the closet doors were about two dozen tampons, taped up in the shape of a smiley face, each with smiley faces on them.

Jack stepped forward with his best apologetic face on and said, "Now, love, you. . ."

But Venice cut him off with a hard slap across his face. His head and neck spun around, and he looked back at Damian and Will.

"I don't think I deserved that."

~***~

Jack stormed off angrily. Will followed closely as he went down to check on Elizabeth, mumbling how some girls were much more laid back than others.

Damian looked at Venice, who had plopped down on the floor and put her head in her hands.

"It was just a joke, V." Damian shook his head.

Venice stared at him before standing up and heading down to the kitchen.

~***~

Jack sat back onto the couch. Venice was terribly annoyed with him, and he hid his emotions by acting annoyed with her. Liz was under a blanket on the couch, Damian was passed out on the floor below the couch, Will was staring at them emptily, and Venice was in the kitchen.

Jack sighed and flopped over. Will looked at him. "What's up?"

"Nothin', Will. Just, Venice is mad at me now."

Will nodded and shrugged. "She'll get over it. It was only a little prank."

Damian stirred. "That's what you get for falling for an actress."

"Actress?" Wil and Jack asked simulateously.

"Yup," Damian said tiredly, "Actress. Since she was. . . what? Eight?"

Jack stared at him. "What is she, Super Artist Girl or something?"

"Oh THAT was clever," Will said sarcastically.

Damian rolled his eyes and went back to sleep.

Jack shrugged. That explained a lot.

~***~

James Norrington sat at his desk and looked at the attendence sheet in front of him. He didn't know what to think.

Jack Sparrow, Damian and Venice Spade, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann were all absent. He looked at the note he took down from what Anamaria Sparrow had said first thing that morning. Her brother was sick.

Well, that could happen, Norrington guessed. He had been coughing yesterday.

And James had thought it was smoker's cough. . .

Then he and the Spade girl went off after lunch, no doubt ending up in a liplock. So the excuse sent in by Damian Spade made sense. That excuse was that she was sick with a nasty cough and fever. Made sense. . .

The Spade's parents were out on a business trip, apparently, as well. It was in a note sent back with the medical papers. So Damian had to stay home and take care of his sister, or so he said. Also made sense.

Then Will Turner. Seemingly not really related in any way to the other three. A death in the family? That could happen, but it seemed rather convenient. Looking at Turner's records, though, he couldn't see the boy skipping school. He was nearly always in class; only two days was he out in his junior year. He didn't think Turner was one to suspect.

The only thing was his talking to Damian Spade, then disappearing later in the day. The boy's locker was right next to Norrington's room, and James didn't see him walking through the hallways. Nor did he see Damian.

It wasn't enough to make James suspect anything, though. He let it slide.

But the greatest enigma was Elizabeth Swann. She wouldn't skip, or at least he highly doubted she would, but there was no excuse yet sent in. Swann was the mayor's daughter. . . she wouldn't dare endanger her father's reputation.

Intuition told James Norrington that something was amiss. But with no proof, his logic overruled and the teacher overlooked the conveniences.

~***~

Venice sat on the counter and lit a cigarette. She hadn't smoked in a long time, but she still had a pack lying around. She toyed with her lighter as she took a long drag and blew smoke rings at the ceiling. Venice remembered when Josh Gibbs taught her how to do that.

The windows in her kitchen were open, and she listened as the blinds clinked together and the birds chirped outside. The digital clock on the stove to her right said 1:00.

Venice took another drag and sighed. Why did Jack seem to be paying so much more attention to Elizabeth? Why was he being so immature? Why was he siding with Will over her? She couldn't stand it, for some reason. She was jealous.

Venice heard the three boys in the living room begin to talk, then fall silent again. Then the couch creaked, and Jack walked into the kitchen.

He stared at her. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like, you retard? Smoking."

Jack rolled his eyes, then walked up to her and snatched it out of her mouth. "Don't be stupid."

"How is it stupid? YOU do it! Hypocrite."

"That's not my point," Jack said, sighing, "You can't smoke."

Venice grew angry, "Who do you think you are? My father?"

"MAYBE I SHOULD BE!"

"Well you aren't. So back off," Venice said calmly, hiding her anger well. There was an icy bite to her voice.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Wrong with me? What's wrong with you? Smoking? You whelp."

"Let me guess, do as you say, not as you do?" Venice said sardonically. Before Jack could snap back, Venice snapped herself.

"Well get over it! I don't have to listen to you, so why don't you just go away? I don't need you!" She threw up her arms in anger, grabbed her pack of cigarettes and her wallet, and stormed out of the house.

Jack pounded on the counter, then leaned on it and hung his head. Why did Venice have to make things so impossible?

~***~

Damian bounced into consciousness at the sound of the heavy door slamming. Will jumbed up. Liz stirred and blinked awake.

Damian got up and ran out to the kitchen. "Venice, what hap- Jack? Where's V?"

Jack looked up. "I don't know. . ."

He was interrupted by a car starting outside. It wasn't his, the engine sounded a little cleaner than his old Malibu. They heard Will stand up and look through the blinds to the driveway.

From the other room he shouted, "I think Venice just took off in a punchbuggy from across the street. . ."

Jack walked in and looked at Will. "Punchbuggy? Where did you come up with that?"

Will stared at him. "You've never heard of the punchbuggy game?"

"No, I'm isolated, now explain. . ."

Damian cut him off. "Not now! Can we just go find where my sister ran off to? And Jack," He stepped up to the black-garbed eighteen year old sharply, "You are going to tell me what the hell you did."

Jack looked isolantly and pouted.

"Don't give me that. My sister is not an irrational person."

"Yes she is!"

Damian rolled his dark blue eyes. "She isn't. You're just immature and it pisses her off. In fact, it's pissing me off."

Jack didn't respond, but left the big house and went out to his car. Will soon joined him, and Damian even hesitantly strolled out the door.

The gay man leaned on Jack's car. "I'm sorry. . . I'm worried about V and I want to find her before she does anything stupid."

Jack looked straight ahead, but nodded. "I understand. . ." He said carefully.

"Good. Then let's not waste time. Jack, let me drive."

Jack opened his mouth for argument, but Damian said, "You don't know your way around, and giving directions is going to be excrutiatingly annoying."

Jack shook his head, but slid across the front seat and booted Will to the back. "Vamos, mi amigos!"

Damian backed out of the driveway and took off to the first place he could think of his sister going; the pier.