Chapter Nine: Intruder Alert!

Will didn't know what to do. Actually, he did, but he didn't know how to put it to her. But all of a sudden, he lips came together with his in a kiss. Her arms flung around him and he pushed her away.

But those few seconds were all Juliet needed. She ran from the window yelling and sobbing.

"Juliet? What's happenin'?" asked Jack.

She flung herself at him, not knowing where else to turn. "TAKE ME AWAY!" she yelled.

"Take me away as far as you can from here—from Will—"

"Why? What happened, Jules?"

"He kissed a girl… HE KISSED HER!" she screamed.

"What? Why would he do that?"

"Ask him yourself! I'm never speaking to him again! I found a ring under the chair, and I thought he was going to propose to me, but I think it's her's."

"Ye don't mean that," said Jack emotionlessly. "Ye don't mean that."

"Elizabeth, what are you doing?!" asked Will after he pushed her away.

"Kissing my fiancee!" she said, as if that were the silliest question in the world.

"Fiancee…?"

"You… you did say we were getting married, right?"

Will suddenly realized what he'd done, and smacked his forehead with his hand. "I thought you meant you were marrying Norrington!"

"No, silly! You… we are back together, aren't we?"

"Elizabeth, I'm in love with someone else. I don't think there's a chance we'll ever be back together."

The smile faded from her face, and tears were forming in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, but it's been a long time—"

"No, I… I understand," she broke him off, but it didn't sound like her words convinced her own self. She walked off a few minutes later, and Will walked back to the shop. When he walked into the shop and up the stairs, however, Juliet threw herself at him, slamming him into the wall.

"YOU KISSED HER! YOU KISSED ANOTHER WOMAN—" she slapped him hard across the face, and Jack came running into the room, pulling Juliet back from Will with great difficulty, holding her away from him the best he could.

"Juliet, calm down—" he began.

"CALM DOWN?! I CAN'T CALM DOWN AFTER I SAW HIM KISSING ANOTHER GIRL—I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME! BUT ONE WOMAN JUST ISN'T ENOUGH—"

"JULIET!" yelled Jack.

She stopped yelling, but started sobbing, and she wrenched herself out of Jack's grasp and ran to the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Will looked after her and clutched his jaw where Juliet had slapped him. He groaned and sank down on the couch.

"Why'd ye do it, mate?" asked Jack, stunned that his best friend would do something like this.

"That's just it. I didn't do it. Elizabeth kissed me—"

The bedroom door opened, and Juliet threw the box out the door as hard as she could and it came inches from Will's head.

"Why don't you go give Elizabeth her ring!" she screamed and slammed the door again.

Will groaned for a second time and his head fell into his hands. Jack let out a low whistle.

"Yer in deep, mate. The last time I saw her this mad was a couple years ago when I cheated on 'er…"

"What?" asked Will. "You and Juliet dated?!"

"Yeah… didn't she tell ye?" Jack asked slowly.

"No…"

"But don't worry, she's all yers, I hope."

"She must've seen me right before I pushed her away… unable to take it. But believe me, Jack, I would never cheat on her. Elizabeth and I just had a misunderstanding." He explained about the wedding.

Jack, despite everything, laughed.

"Jack! It's NOT funny!"

"Okay, maybe not all the way, but ye have to admit, just a lil bit…"

Will looked at him coldly, and Jack stopped laughing abruptly.

"Tell you what, do ye want me to talk to 'er? If ye go in there, she'll probably strangle ye…"

"Yeah, could you? I'm really sorry! I love her, and she knows that…"

Jack nodded and got up to tell her the whole story. He couldn't help but feel a little pang of jealousy toward Will, but Juliet and him were over, weren't they?

Jack knocked on the door and entered, only to see Juliet crying on the bed. He sat down next to her and patted her back comfortingly.

"Juliet—"

"Why did he do it?" she asked. "Why did he?"

"That's just it. He didn't do it. Elizabeth did. Ye stormed off before ye could see 'im push 'er away. It's over between them."

"Why didn't he tell me about her, though?"

"Why didn't ye tell 'im about us?"

Juliet stopped. Why didn't she?

Jack smiled. "The kid's really down. 'E loves ye, and I know ye love 'im."

"I know… but.. what if there's a next time? What if it is his fault?"

"I know Will, an' I know ye do too. 'E wouldn't do somethin' like that."

"But… part of me just doesn't want to forgive him. Part of me is scared to."

"I'll tell 'im ye need some time to forgive 'im, okay?"

Juliet nodded. "Tell him I'm sleeping on the couch tonight," she said, sitting up.

Jack got up to leave, but she stopped him. "Oh, Jack?"

He turned around. "Yes, love?"

She smiled. "Thanks."

Juliet turned uncomfortably on the couch, wishing she was in Will's soft bed… with Will. She shouldn't have been so hard on him. I'll tell him later, when we leave, she thought to herself.

Jack said she should be getting sleep, because they would leave in the dead of night. He was down in the shop, keeping a lookout for anything suspicious, and that he'd come get her and Will when the rime was right.

But she couldn't sleep.

A crash was heard downstairs.

Juliet's eyes flew open, but there was hardly a difference from what she was looking at now, with her eyes closed, she couldn't see anything because of the darkness, and it was the same when she opened them.

Calm down, she mentally told herself, Jack just ran into something… you know how clumsy he is…

Finally, after what seemed like a year, she heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

Wait… was there more than one person?

Calm down, Juliet, she mentally told herself again. They're just members of the crew…

One person went to Will's room.

The sound of knuckles on bone was heard, along with a grunt and a thud. Will woke up to considerable pain, and he was on the floor.

"Jack, what was that for?" he asked angrily.

He heard a laugh.

"Jack?" he couldn't see his face; it was too dark, but the laugh wasn't Jack's.

The man bent as close as he possibly could, and Will immediately recognized him. His eyes widened.

It was Bósun.

Will rolled quickly to the side and yelled, "JULIET! GET OUT! RUN TO—"

But Bósun knocked him in the head and Will fell unconscious.

Juliet heard Will yell, and she jumped up from the sofa and started to run, but she crashed right into someone. That someone grabbed her forearms that she held in front of her. She couldn't get away.

Through the pitch-blackness, he bent close to her so she could make out his face.

She screamed.

It was her father.

She screamed again and he put a cloth to her mouth.

Her voice died slowly. She was falling into blackness…

She fought to stay conscious for Will and Jack… if something happened to them…

But she knew no more.

OOOOOOO!!! Another EXTREMELY evil cliffhanger! Well, I'm afraid this is all the updates I'll be able to do for today… after all, it WAS 4! Yes, I can't believe it either! THIS BREAKS MY RECORD OF 3 WHEN I WAS WORKING ON A PIRATES LOVE FOR ME!!! REVIEW PLZ!