AN (11/3): I am undergoing an extensive internal debate (that often ends up in me talking to myself) about what should happen in this story. I see it one of three ways...and I can't decide which of the three I'm going to go with.
All Hallow's Eve: Chapter 5
"You can't just leave," I protested, trying to stare daggers into his forehead. It looked rather odd, his forehead, because of how long he'd been wearing that bandanna. Now it was completely bare, ridiculing the world with its poignant tan line. If his dark hair (which was now, regrettably, shorter) hadn't spilled onto his forehead, most people would've stared at it. As it was, it was only barely noticeable now that I was staring directly at it. If I'd been in a better mood, I probably would've laughed about it.
"Why not?" he asked, clearly either impatient for something or not understanding why I was demanding that he stay. "It isn' like ye know how to get me home, luv. Ye know e'en less abou' the whole situation than I do, if tha's even possible." The slightest hint of worry was shining in his dark chocolate eyes as he spoke, his hands moving about in eccentric patterns with almost every syllable.
"I know less than you do?" I asked indignantly. "Jack! I'm the only one in this world that knows you are who you say you are! Everyone else will just say that you're a good Johnny Depp impersonator." Sighing slightly, I flicked at my hair and put it behind my ears. It could be so annoying sometimes.
"So?" Something seemed to snap in Jack's eyes as he abruptly turned to leave the room. "It was fun, luv. Impossible, bu' fun. Now I've got t' solve this riddle meself." He pivoted to face me and bowed slightly. "I wish ye the bes' of luck and suggest tha' you merely forget you ever knew me."
This couldn't really be happening, could it? I watched in slow motion as he turned and left the room. This couldn't be happening. I mean, I didn't love the man (or did I?) and I didn't really expect him to stay around...but, well, I'd given something special to him and he'd left without a word of thanks, really. Goodness gracious! My mother was going to kill me, if she ever found out. And what in the world would happen when Jack realized he didn't fit in this world? What if the graveyard was some sort of portal to the fictional past and other fictional characters showed up? Hector Barbossa could be wandering around right now!
Sighing, I lay down on the couch in shame. I was just trying to divert my attention to something other than the crushing pain in the chasm of my soul. Why did it hurt so much? It wasn't as though we'd been dating. He'd surely just seen me as some sort of strumpet...but why did thinking of that word make me want to hit something? Where would he go? I almost felt like a parent missing their only child's first steps or words.
This really was quite stupid. I should be happy that I'd had the opportunity to lose my virginity to the captain that everyone idolized in the movie. No one could ever claim that, right? Unless...well, that was a possibility. But I was the only one who knew he was the real Captain Jack Sparrow.
I spent the rest of the afternoon, regrettably, crying. As if tears would change anything. The next day, I decided to go to school, even though most people thought I should stay home. I'd just been raped, after all. It took most girls years to recover from that. Of course, it wasn't exactly a rape if both parties consented to it, eh?
It was a dark day that morning, even though Daylight Savings time had just ended and clocks had suddenly decided to fall behind an hour. I never could understand why we still bothered with the whole thing. I mean, sure, it was a great way to save candles...but this was the 21st century! We wasted everything, especially light! People's sleeping cycles shouldn't be messed up because some genius in the eighteenth century thought it would be a good idea.
Sighing slightly, and wondering for the billionth time if I'd just imagined the whole liaison, I stepped inside my high school. Whitestown Community High School was rather boring and, at least to me, appeared like a bleak prison in early dawn, awaiting souls who would never see the light of day again as they misbehaved and were thrust down to solitary confinement. Well, that's probably an exaggeration, but this year I felt as though my teachers were trying to smother all hopes and aspirations I'd ever had.
I walked silently up the stairs to the second floor, ignoring the sympathetic looks and whispers from my classmates. An odd thing happens in small towns...they know everything. I tried to avoid looking at any teachers in the eye as I walked along, staring studiously at my shoes to accomplish that task. Perhaps coming was a bad idea. But now that Jack was gone, my mom wanted to spend some quality time with me. I really didn't want to have to lie to her so much. I know I'm old fashioned, but I don't like keeping secrets from my mother. Something about that just bothers me.
"You look...nice," one of my closer friends remarked as I sat down next to the brick wall across from my locker. It had been our meeting place the whole year, since all of us came to school with plenty of time to spare. I wasn't particularly close to any of them, but some knew me better than others. Of course everyone else was staring at me with sympathy and embarrassment in their eyes.
"Just...just don't mention it, okay?" I frowned and released a huff of air. I had to act like I was hurt. It was easy enough for me to look like I had to cry, since I still felt rather heartbroken by Jack's pigheaded decision.
"Sorry," Megan said softly, looking away. I felt horrible. She seemed so dejected...and I was lying to her. To all of my friends. They started up another conversation, glancing away from me. Not that this was anything new, of course. They often didn't look at me at all during the morning. Now, however, I could tell something was completely different. It would not be fun in class today.
I managed to make it through my math class without too much trouble. My math teacher, Mrs. Storrs, even insisted that I not take the test I'd come here to take. She seemed to think I was too emotionally distraught. That was probably because I was having such a hard time not laughing about it all. How could they believe that I'd been raped? Most people thought of me as a homebody or a spinster, though I was only seventeen. What did I care what people thought? Those Barbie dolls that spend hours obsessing over their hair in the mirror had always been annoying. Just how did they spend so much time looking at themselves, anyway? If I did something like that, I'd probably start pulling out all of the hair on my face because I wasn't good enough. I don't know. Why did they always assume their hair was messy? Most wore so much hair spray that it was a miracle they could even brush it back. I liked to think of myself a bit like a hippy...all natural. If I was feeling festive, I'd wear a hint of eye shadow and blush. Of course, it now dawned on me that I'd been trying to sell myself to the other side by dressing up as that strumpet...but that had just been for fun, right? I didn't really want to be some sort of plastic toy that had to be absolutely perfect...
Anyway, my next class was independent study with three of my closest friends. This should be interesting...the complete silence. Well, maybe not complete, for I had the vaguest premonition that Katie would have quite a bit to say. I'd considered telling them about the truth...of course, Daisy would look at me as though I was crazy and Megan would be puzzled...but at least it would be off my chest, right? I didn't think I could stand living the lie for another class period.
I bumped into Craig, a rather tall senior in my English class, as I walked along the crowded hallway. He glanced at me as though I might break. "Sorry," he muttered, edging away so he could talk to his short friend. It was now that I noticed how everyone was avoiding me. Now I knew how lepers felt. At least to some degree.
Sighing, with my mind in an emotional ferris wheel, I shrugged it off and continued walking. No sense in trying to say that it didn't matter. I had to act as though I hated all men, right? That's how women on television acted when they'd been raped. Of course, women on soap operas often ended up marrying the men who'd raped them...but that sent my mind down a track I didn't want to think about. Jack was never coming back. Knowing his luck, he'd become a famous star like Johnny Depp. There wasn't much room for piracy these days with all our technology, so that was probably the only thing he could do.
A minute or so later, I reached the room on the third floor and stepped in, suddenly aware of the fact that I had a few new zits on my face as my friends looked up at me. I shuffled uncomfortably to my seat and waited for the teacher to leave. She did as soon as she took roll. My friends descended on me like a pack of ravenous vultures.
"What happened?" Megan asked, looking at me with concern in her light brown eyes. She'd always been a lot more compassionate than my other friends, as well as a lot more timid.
Her voice was drowned out by Katie's. "Yeah, what happened? My mom said someone..assaulted you or something. Is that true?"
I sighed softly, shifting uncomfortably in my seat as Daisy stared at me with those blue eyes of hers. They could always get me to tell the truth. I hated it when she looked at me that way. "Well...I wasn't assaulted."
Katie seemed puzzled as Daisy and Megan frowned. "Well, then, why'd you tell your mom you were?" Katie had never had a problem speaking her mind. I found her randomness often refreshing. She sighed and brushed a lock of light brown hair back behind her ear.
"You really wouldn't believe me if I told you," I muttered, sinking down into my seat. Couldn't they just leave me alone? Yet...I wanted to get this out of my system.
"What happened?" Daisy asked, gently putting her hand on mine. "We promise not to tell anyone. What sort of friends would we be if we couldn't believe you?"
Well, they certainly hadn't tried this tactic before. Shaking my head slightly, I told them everything that had happened. It had been rather amusing to see the looks on their faces, for I could tell that Megan didn't believe me. Katie wanted to...and Daisy couldn't help but believe me. I'd always been completely honest with Daisy. She was, I suppose, my best friend. Of course, she didn't really know me. No one did. I probably didn't even really know myself.
"Wow," Katie said softly, blinking a few times to get her eyes back to the normal size. "Wow." She was grinning stupidly. Katie liked Johnny Depp about as much as I did...and she probably would've done the same thing. I could tell that she was trying to convince herself that it could happen. If she could convince herself that, well, it showed how much sway what I said could have on people, I guess.
Daisy didn't say anything in response, for there was some sort of internal struggle in her sparkling blue eyes. She glanced away from me and put her head on her desk, playing with locks of her red hair as she tried to think of some way not to believe me. I felt rather touched that I'd convinced two of the three.
Megan, on the other hand, was staring at me as though I was crazy. "Did they give you some sort of medication? Something to make it so you couldn't really remember what happened? I mean...this is too much. There's no way someone from a movie could actually be real." She shook her head and popped her jaw, folding her arms away from me as though she was repulsed by the idea that I'd enjoyed what happened.
I sighed softly as I stared at Megan. I'd known her for about ten years now...and she didn't believe me. I knew it was a lot to believe...but she could've at least humored me. "I know it sounds crazy, Megan...but would I lie to my best friends?"
She shook her head again and refused to look my way. Clearly she thought I was having problems mentally. "Whatever you say. I think you've just had a hard time, and I think your mom is absolutely mental for having let you come today. Honestly."
Katie frowned over at Megan and glanced back at me. "I believe you," she said softly, a slightly dreamy look in her eyes. "I wish I could slap him too. Bloody git doesn't know what he's missing." She chuckled softly, sympathetically putting her hand on mine, which was clenched against the side of the desk. I hadn't even realized it was there. "Though...it seemed romantic until he left. You should find him."
I shook my head slightly. "Oh, yeah, that would work, Katie. I have no idea where he'd go. I'm going to do as he advised me to do. Forget about him. This is the last time I'll ever talk about him."
Megan scoffed and Daisy nodded, finally able to speak. "Well, it would be wise. I mean, if you have no idea where he's gone, it is best to say that you've been raped." She frowned slightly, and I could tell she was still doubting me. I knew that her heart wanted to believe me, but her head wouldn't let her. Daisy was a very smart individual, as well as very talented. I often wondered why she ever became my friend. We seemed to be opposites in a lot of things. The most visible of these was our heights. I was rather tall, and she was quite short. But we almost seemed to have the same mind at times.
"I know," I replied softly, touched again that they both believed me. I'd just have to work on Megan. "Since he told me to forget him, I will. I'm going to stick with the rape story. And I suggest that you do as well, because it will get Savannah in trouble." Was I actually going to gossip? Yes. And I wanted to. I realized now that I'd tried to garner Savannah's respect by dressing up as a strumpet, for she was known around the school as, well, a rather nasty word that means about the same thing as strumpet.
Megan shook her head slightly. "You shouldn't use this to get her in trouble."
"Do you remember why I was in the graveyard?" I frowned. I'd at least hoped she'd believe me now that I was starting to sound a bit normal. "Look, Megan, she ridiculed me in front of most of the school."
"I know, but you still shouldn't try to get her in trouble. Wouldn't that be sinking down to her level?" Megan looked at me for the first time in a few minutes.
Katie shook her head. "Megan, come on. Savannah kicked her out of the party on Halloween. I think that warrants a bit of muckraking."
Daisy nodded, glaring at Megan. I had the feeling that a very intense conversation between the two of them would happen. Daisy had always been my defender, after all. She liked to reprimand anyone who hurt me behind my back.
jack sparrow is a SEXY beast: Of course Jack can...he's evil. At least right now. I might bring him into the next chapter, if I write any more...depends on if I can get seven reviews this time...Anyway, such things are possible. In dreams.
sunkist3208: It's called irony. And I'm still deciding if I want to keep going. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated. And trouble is Jack's middle name, Whitney. Don't worry, you'll be pulled into the story soon.
And as for every girl's fantasy? Well, that's because this is loosely based on a dream I had.
Laura: Jack is a jerk. At times. He might redeem himself, honest. I haven't decided if he will or not...
I hope that I'm not too confusing to you, Laura. I've tried to make as much sense as possible, but often what I think makes sense doesn't...
colecole345: Sorry it took me so long. I was sick on Saturday and Sunday and school ish completely ebil...
Holly Berries: Well, it wasn't a premier. It was a sneak peek. And you should see Finding Neverland. Fantastic. Thank you so much for the compliments! I love them. And reviews. I love them too.
orcachick2005: Don't kill me, Daisy! Anyway, I'll have the screenies up in a moment. And I hope you liked a certain character...she's kinda a mixture of yourself and my friend Marie...
Thanks for all the support. I don't think I'd ever have kept writing without your constant support with my creative ventures... and the chef hat. It'll come in handy. And you can slap Jack. Tis fun.
Rachel Sparrow: Jack actually did that. He's being the antagonist, as it were. I might redeem him. Maybe. Thanks for the review!
The future Mrs. Jack Sparrow: I'll churn it out as fast as I can, poppet. Sometimes I go through writer's block.