This next chapter is really sad, but it's one of my favorites. As far as my writing goes, I'm proud of it and think it's a pretty great feat for myself. Enjoy!
Thanks to everyone I love! Especially DAFTLIKESPARROW for inspiration and encouragement. Love you.
Chapter 4: You'll Think of Me
WHAT?!" Celeste and Jack cried simultaneously.
"She went out this morning and didn't come back!" Jim said, panicked.
"Well, maybe she--" Celeste started, but Jim cut her off.
"No!" he interrupted. "My friend saw it happen! She was kidnapped by Thomas Black!"
"Oh, bloody--" Jack began, but stopped, thinking.
"Can we go after him now, Jack?" Celeste asked him.
Jack sighed. "Well, o' course we can."
"You sound like you'd been planning to go after him or something..." Jim said.
"Well, we 'ad." Jack replied. "'e sort of... er... well..."
Celeste sighed impatiently. "Bugger! Just say it, Jack! He tried to rape me, but Jack and Will saved me before he could, but we found that he's keeping several women hostage at... wherever his hideout is."
"Oh..." Jim said. "I'm sorry, I didn't--"
"No, it's fine -- we just have to get on this fast so we can save Jocelyn." Celeste told him.
"Did your friend see where Black was 'eaded?" Jack asked Jim.
"He said he'd gotten on a ship and left." Jim said, panicked.
"Oh, no..." Jack mumbled.
"You know..." Jim said. "I think I know someone who can help you."
Jim decided that he would get in touch with his friend Blake Gray and have him help Jack and Celeste find Jocelyn. The only problem is that it would take Gray several days to get to London. Gray had a lot of connections with people all over the country and could get information about anyone or anything that happens.
Jim left the ship and Jack looked exceedingly worried. Celeste put a hand on his shoulder.
"We'll find Jocelyn, Jack." she assured. "You found me, we can find her. Don't worry."
"I 'ave to." Jack said and he marched off the ship with a furrowed brow. Celeste made to go after him, but decided he probably wanted to be alone.
A few hours later, Jack returned... very, very drunk. Celeste happened to be on deck when he arrived and hurried over to him.
"Jack--" she started, and then realized his current state. She began to grow angry.
"Love, I'm rthr tired an' 'd like to lie dwn..." he slurred, staggering. She glanced down at his chest and noticed something that enraged her -- lipstick marks.
Her eyes widened and she clenched her fists. "WHAT ON EARTH HAVE YOU BEEN DOING??!!"
"Darling, yrr yellin' rthr loudly..." he slurred.
"AND FOR GOOD REASON!!" she yelled. "YOU'RE BLOODY DRUNK!! AND -- AND... LIPSTICK!! WHERE -- WHAT -- EXPLAIN NOW!!!"
"Ths isn' wha' you thnk... I... it's a lng stry..." he slurred. "I'll tell you in th' mornin'..." and he staggered off to his room. Celeste angrily stomped off to hers.
The next morning, Jack came up on deck later than usual, and Celeste was waiting for him, looking menacing.
"Mornin', darling..." he greeted, dreading what was to come.
"Don't 'darling' me." she said angrily. "What on earth did you do last night?"
"Well," he began, "I went to the pub an' 'ad a few drinks, an'..."
"And what about the lipstick?!" she demanded.
"Now, you 'ave to understand, darling, I didn' bring that on meself." he said. "It was this girl... she jus' came up to me an'... well... tha's the extent of it."
"And you just let her do that?" Celeste asked angrily.
"Well, no... I mean, my vision was a little impaired an'--"
"So you just let her."
"Darling, no, no, it's not like that--"
"YOU JUST WENT OUT AND GOT DRUNK REGARDLESS OF WHAT COULD HAPPEN!!" she yelled.
"No, I--"
"Stop." Celeste ordered. "Just stop. I don't -- look, I'll be willing to overlook it if you just promise me something."
"What, love?" he asked.
"That you will never, ever drink any type of alcoholic drink ever again." she stated.
"Oh, darling, that's a little drastic--"
"I know what it can do to people, Jack." she told him. "I've seen what it can do and I won't see it happen again."
"Darling, I've been drinkin' rum for years an' I'm fine."
"You are now." she said. "Just promise me that you'll stop."
"It's a rather large part o' me life, you know." he told her.
"Jack, I don't care, just stop." she ordered. "You don't need it, so stop. Don't be an idiot."
"Darling," he began, getting angry. "I don' see as 'ow it's your business what I do on me own time."
"It's my business because you're my business."
"Look, I don' see why I should--"
"Let's put it this way," she said impatiently, "if you don't stop drinking... I... don't think I can see you anymore."
He paused, rather stunned. "You -- you'd stop lovin' me because o' somethin' so unimportant?"
"No, Jack." she told him. "I'll never stop loving you. But... I will stop seeing you. I'd rather let you go myself than have you taken away from me. I'm serious about this. Tell me you'll stop."
"Darling," he started with difficulty, "I can't say that. I'm a pirate an'... I enjoy me rum. That's what I do."
"So that you can go out, get drunk, and kiss other women!" she yelled angrily and stomped over to the ship's railing -- he followed.
"Darling, I didn'." he said "I told you what happened."
"So your answer is 'no.'" she stated. "You value rum over me."
"No, I jus' don' see why--"
"Well, obviously, you pick rum." she concluded bitterly. "Fine." she started to storm off and then turned back to him. "You keep your precious rum. You keep it." she backed him into the railing. "You may be a drunk, but I'm still a lady and--"
"That's a matter of opinion." Jack muttered angrily.
Celeste gasped. "How dare you! You -- you--"
"Me what?" he asked bitterly.
She stood fuming for a moment and then, suddenly, as Jack got a "what are you going to do about it" look on his face, she stepped forward and shoved Jack overboard.
SPLASH!
"Man overboard." she said bitterly and stomped off to her room.
That evening, Celeste came up on deck and went to Gibbs.
"Where's Jack?" she asked.
"He went into town, Miss." Gibbs replied.
"Thank you." Celeste said and went into town. She knew where the pub was since she and Jack had passed it once and he'd pointed it out to her. She entered it and saw Jack standing with a woman, and at that moment, he saw her. Just then, he put an arm around the woman and walked towards Celeste.
"Nice to see you, Miss Wyndham." Jack said casually as he walked past her.
She clenched her fists. 'How dare he!' she thought. 'Fine. I'll give him a taste of his own medicine.' She started walking through the bar, scanning it as she went. She found what she was looking for.
She had found a good-looking man who was half Jack's age and explained her situation to him. She offered him ten shillings to walk with her and try to annoy Jack. She walked over to the bar with the man and deliberately sat down next to Jack. She casually looked over.
"Oh, hi, Mr. Sparrow." she said, faking polite.
Jack glanced at the man. "Hi." he replied.
She turned to the man. "You know, sir, it's so nice to be out with a decent person." she said. "I've been seeing a pirate as of late, and he turned out to be a stubborn, ignorant man. I don't know if all pirates are that way... Maybe it's just one filthy pirate captain that I know. Stupid, selfish, shallow, and -- and -- and maybe even a eunuch for all I know."
Jack's eyes widened. "You know," Jack started, looking at the woman, but directing the words at Celeste, "I think some women really need to loosen up an' keep their stick noses out of other people's personal business."
"And I think some people should value love over alcohol." Celeste retorted, not looking at Jack.
"An' I think real ladies don' PUSH PEOPLE OVERBOARD!!"
"And I think they should if the idiot deserves it!"
"They only do that because they know they can't win the argument an' are utterly wrong!" Jack retorted.
Celeste turned around and looked at Jack. "Shut up!" she yelled.
"Why don' you shut up?!" Jack yelled back.
"Why don't you both shut up and stop fighting?" Elizabeth asked, annoyed. She'd heard about the fight earlier, and had followed Celeste into town.
The man and the woman slipped away, realizing this fight was probably going to last a while.
"Both of you, back to the ship -- NOW!" Elizabeth ordered.
"'ey," Jack began, "what do you think you're--"
"NOW!!" Elizabeth roared. Celeste and Jack both shut up and silently followed Elizabeth back to the Pearl.
They went aboard and Elizabeth almost immediately rounded on Celeste and Jack.
"What is this I hear about you two not being together anymore?!" Elizabeth scolded loudly. "That'd best be a rumor!" Celeste and Jack avoided her eyes. "Are you serious?!" she yelled. "You," she glared at Celeste, "did not have to say you're not seeing him anymore!"
"But--" Celeste started.
"Did I say you could talk?!" Elizabeth yelled. Celeste stifled. Elizabeth glared at Jack. "You, why must you go out and get drunk?! Didn't you listen to a word I said about it turning even the most respectable man into a complete scoundrel?!"
"Elizabeth, I realize you're jus' tryin' to 'elp, but it's really none of your business." Jack said, irritated.
"Really, there's nothing you can do -- this man is impossible." Celeste told her.
"Oh, aye, I'm impossible!" Jack exclaimed. "When you're the one who started this whole thing in the first place!"
"Me?!" Celeste yelled. "You were the one who came back completely drunk with lipstick on you!"
"I told you I didn' do anythin'!" Jack yelled back. "She jus' came up an'... well, I didn' do anythin'! I pushed 'er away!"
"But you did let her do that!" Celeste cried. "Look, I won't even care and I'll believe you if you'll just promise that you won't drink any type of alcohol ever again!"
"I told you! I've been drinkin' for years!" he yelled. "I'm fine! An' I'll be fine! I'm a pirate -- we drink rum! It's part o' our routine!"
"And you couldn't drop one thing you could live better without for the woman I thought you loved." she stated venomously.
"I--"
"Don't even bother." she said and marched downstairs to her room.
Jack shook his head. "She is the most stubborn human being I 'ave ever met -- why do I even try?"
That night, Celeste stared up at her ceiling restlessly. She wiped a few tears from her cheeks and tried to get her mind off her present situation.
'Obviously there's someone better out there for me.' she thought defiantly. 'Someone who will value me over a stupid alcoholic drink... Someone who will treat me like a--'
'Princess.' Jack's voice said in her head. More tears rolled down her cheeks. She slammed her fist into her mattress and turned over.
'Someone' she thought, 'who will--'
'Love you forever.' Jack's voice said. She sniffled and buried her head in her pillow. 'I can't live without you, now, can I?' she started to sob, hearing the voice she wished she could forget. 'I love you, Princess.' She tried to block it out, but it came even more rapidly now. 'I'd die before I'd let you leave me.' She turned over and pulled the covers up over her head. 'I love you.' She put her fingers to her lips, remembering the feel of his kiss. She sat up and looked out the window at the dark ocean. She lied back down restlessly and stared up at the ceiling again.
Jack lied in his room, clutching a half empty bottle of rum. He sloshed the rum around, gazing emptily at it.
'What do I need 'er for, anyway?' he thought. 'She'll obviously only take the fun out o' me life."
'Is this fun?' a voice asked from the back of his mind. 'Drinkin' until you're tired of it -- all alone?'
He stared up at his ceiling. 'I don' need 'er.'
'You're so warm and comfortable, Jack...' Celeste's voice popped into his head. He shook his head, attempting to rid his thoughts of the voice. 'I love you, Jack O' Lantern.' He then remembered her face when he saved her from Black -- before she realized he was even there. 'Jack, help me!!" She looked so helpless and hurt. 'What would I do without you, Jack?' She had been hurt so badly... 'I love you, Jack.' He sighed and took a large swig of rum. The more he thought of her, the more rum he drank down.
'Damn the fact that I can 'old more rum before gettin' drunk than any other pirate in the whole bloody Caribbean.' he thought. He nearly apologized in his mind to Celeste for cursing. He drank more rum.
'I love you so much.' Celeste's voice said in his head. 'If you hadn't saved me, I... don't know what would've happened...' He drank down more rum as his eyes began to water. 'I love you much, Jack.' He gulped down more rum. 'I love you.' He gazed, teary eyed at the quarter full rum bottle in his hand and sat up. He stared at the bottle for a moment more and then suddenly hurled it against the wall. The glass shattered and rum splashed to the floor.
"It's not bloody worth it!!" he yelled. Resolute, he stood up and marched to Celeste's room. He didn't even knock, he just barged in, slammed the door shut, and went to her.
She sat up in surprise and began to speak, but he didn't care, he just hugged her tightly. Her expression softened and she hugged him back.
"I'm sorry, love, I didn' mean to yell at you." he apologized desperately. "Rum means nothin' to me when it comes to you."
She sniffled, still plagued with tears. "I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have accused you of being unfaithful. I know you better than that." He kissed her. "Wait... have you been drinking?"
"Tried to get you off me mind." he replied. "But nothin' could ever do that. I'm done with drinkin' if that's what you want -- I promise."
She smiled. "Thank you, Jack." she told him. "I couldn't have lived without you... I love you. I really do. And I always will."
He smiled. "I love you, too, darling. Always." he said, and kissed her. "Not goin' to let anythin' take you away from me." He hugged her tightly.
"Nothing could tear me away." she replied, hugging him tightly as well. "We'll be together forever... Promise me."
"Forever an' longer, my love." he told her and kissed her.
This chapter was really great to write. People fight in relationships and have real differences -- that's one thing I wanted to portrey. This is a really depressing chapter, but I had a good time writing it -- I got a lot out that they needed to deal with and sort out. As the chapter title says, I got my inspiration for this chapter from the song "You'll Think of Me" by Keith Urban. He inspires me so much. Everyone needs to go out and buy his new cd "Be Here." It's great. HEY, THE VIDEO JUST CAME ON!! HE KNOWS I'M TALKING ABOUT HIM!!! WE ARE DESTINED!!! Haha. JK. Or am I?! Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter!
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