AN (11/16): I've been doing a lot of thinking for this chapter...and haven't come up with much of anything. Ah well...we'll see how much I get done while I'm procrastinating my reading notes for AP Government.
AN (11/17): One month until I turn eighteen...scary. Anyway, I'm finishing this up as I procrastinate doing my calculus homework...it is so evil, calculus...
All Hallow's Eve: Chapter 6
Megan sighed and slowly shook her head, returning the look that Daisy was giving her. "Whatever. Discuss whatever you want to discuss. I want to finish my homework." She frowned and picked up her textbook, slowly standing as if to prove a point and walking to a far corner. Obviously she didn't want to talk anymore. I can't say that I blamed her for reacting so negatively. If I were in her position, I wouldn't believe it either. Perhaps I had made up the story after being raped...things were starting to get a bit blurry.
Daisy watched Megan leave, her face pulled into a slight frown. I doubted I'd ever seen Daisy as angry as she was right now. She believed me enough to want to fight those who refused to listen...
"So," Katie said, completely ignoring the fact that Megan had left our sides. She had her textbook open too, but I could tell she hadn't done any of the assignment yet. My fault, of course. It was a pity, too, for Katie was in the orchestra for the school play and never had any free time to finish her homework. Daisy was in the play as well (as Tzeitel), but she always had time to finish her homework because she was a genius. She'd finish it in about half the time it took the average person. "What do you think Savannah will say, when she's told?"
"Well...I told my parents that I'd just stepped out of the party for a moment," I replied, allowing a slight amount of displeasure to tinge my words. "Not really all that much we could use against her." Most of the school would've loved to ridicule Savannah for kicking me out of the party. Yet, no one wanted to admit that they'd set me out on the street unconscious, so no one had come forward to say anything that would incriminate her.
"Ah." Daisy seemed both relieved and disappointed by this news. She hated speaking ill of anyone, even the girl who'd always been her competition in drama. Savannah happened to be playing Daisy's mother in the play Fiddler on the Roof. I thought it was because Savannah was taller than Daisy...not because she had more talent, but I could tell that it still rubbed Daisy a bit raw. "Well...I suppose we can't sling mud at her for it. It wasn't her fault that you were "raped", even though she made you cry and faint."
"I know," I admitted heavily. Life seemed to be cruel to me again. I'd known one brief moment of pure happiness...and now I was stuck in the mire of lies and spite. I knew it was wrong of me to hate Savannah. In fact...I should be thanking her! Without her cruel treatment of me over the years, I wouldn't have ever ended up in that graveyard on Saturday night. Of course, maybe it had been a bad thing after all. I had the creepiest feeling that I was the one who'd pulled Jack unwittingly into reality. But he was gone...so, I couldn't figure out how to send him back. Even though he'd been completely horrible to me, I wasn't sure if I wanted to send him back. How could you say no to a face like his, anyway? "Oh well...I'm sure that someday she'll slip up in front of everyone." Bold words for someone like me to say. I generally believed that all people were good at heart (even my odd parents), but I'd never liked Savannah, even though she'd been my friend at one point.
Katie nodded, though I could tell she was a bit uncomfortable with the situation. "Well...I'm sure that something will come up." She happened to like Savannah. I thought it incredibly odd...but then again, Katie seemed to have two personalities sometimes. She sighed, still caught up in imagining what she'd do with Captain Jack Sparrow at her side. I wish I could treat the situation so lightly. But I couldn't. I felt absolutely filthy on the inside because I'd lied to my parents. Not to mention like a piece of dirt because he'd left me after using me to get more comfortable with his own situation. It was rather amazing that he'd reacted so calmly to everything. I'd imagined him pulling out his gun and shooting someone when he'd seen some of the "conveniences" we have this century.
The gun! Of course! He'd taken off his effects when we'd reached my room...and I don't think that he'd picked it up afterwards. I could prove the story to Megan. Feeling slightly less dirty, I smiled at Katie. "Oh, I really don't care. I was stupid, dressing up as that strumpet to get attention." I sounded almost too old...
Daisy looked at me, surprise in her crystal blue eyes. She didn't expect such mature comments from me often. "Well...it never is very nice to make fun of someone." She smiled warmly, glancing down at the book in her hands. Crime and Punishment...it was quite ironic that we were studying that right now. I completely sympathized with the main character. Not that I'd committed murder...
I nodded, not really knowing what else to say. I was excited to get home. Surely I'd be able to prove to Megan that I'd seen Jack Sparrow. I had the uncontrollable urge to prove it to myself...
Nestle water? Did it taste like chocolate? Reaching forward, I slowly grabbed the water bottle with a picture of horribly fake mountains on it. Taking off the plastic cap, I slowly opened the bottle and took a long drink. Nope. It tasted like nothing. I suppose that was good. Bottled water wasn't supposed to taste like anything. Yet, my hopes felt strangely crushed as I closed the bottle and tossed it from one hand to the other. Shouldn't something with the label of Nestle include chocolate or at least have some vague hint of chocolaty goodness?
Speaking of chocolate, I couldn't get those stupid eyes out of my mind. They seemed to be staring at me each time I closed my eyes. Why wouldn't he leave me alone? All I wanted to do was forget about him. The search for the gun had been fruitless...obviously he hadn't left his effects here, as I'd thought. That would've just been too easy.
"Why won't you leave me alone?" I asked myself, laying back on the couch with my eyes closed. My mother had gone to her weekly bingo game, my father was still at work. It was amazing how often they left me at home by myself. I couldn't understand my mother's obsession with bingo...but, then again, she couldn't understand my obsession with Pirates of the Caribbean. As long as I didn't pester her about bingo, she let me wear out the DVD.
"Because I can't," a deep voice responded not too far away from my head.
I jumped up off the sofa, probably going a half of foot off the cushions. That had really startled me. Generally when I talked to myself, I received no reply. "Jack?" I asked, hating my eyes for suddenly deciding I should cry. Once I was back down on the couch, I hastily sat up and rubbed at those weeping tear ducts as though I was merely tired. He looked so perfect standing next to me with a repentant look on his face. His hair was pulled back into a pony tail. Generally, I thought that looked stupid on men. But it reminded me of Roux in Chocolat...
"Aye, luv, I'm back," he responded, sighing and taking a seat next to me. I was very surprised when he put his arm around my shoulders. It felt so nice, though, and I found myself staring at those warm chocolate eyes, instantly forgiving him for breaking my tender heart.
"Why?" I asked softly, wishing he'd answer me and kiss me all at the same time. I dropped the water bottle onto the floor, rather puzzled when it spilled on the carpet. Hadn't I shut it? Oh well...it was only water, after all.
"I couldn' stay away," he responded. Almost as if he could read my mind, he bent over and kissed me. "Please forgive an' ole pirate for bein' such a fool," he said softly, gently cupping my cheek in his strong hands.
How could I say no? Besides...I'd always been taught to forgive people, no matter what they did to me. Smiling, I said breathlessly, "Of course I forgive you, Jack." I pulled on his beard and kissed him. "I'll always forgive you. You were just scared."
"Aye," he admitted, frowning slightly. "I was scared. Scared of commitment an' this new time. Bu' I promise t' be better." How I yearned to believe him. He certainly seemed sincere enough. The look in his dark brown eyes was that of complete repentance.
Something was bothering me about the whole situation, though. The look on his face seemed out of character. Almost like what the blacksmith Will Turner would look like if he were saying the same thing. But that was complete nonsense, wasn't it? How could Jack be Will Turner's clone? He was Captain Jack Sparrow, after all.
"Wha' do ye say t' that?" he asked, puzzled by the look in my eyes. The confusion on his face was too clear...he wasn't concealing it as much as he should've been.
"I...uh...I suppose you're right," I replied, blinking slowly. When I opened my eyes, I screamed loudly. Jack's face was melting! The skin was bubbling off, falling to the floor and steaming as it hit the white carpet now drenched in blood. I couldn't move my gaze elsewhere as he leaned in to kiss me, the muscles twitching horribly on his face. What was going on? Surely I wasn't dreaming...
I woke up a moment later, shivering violently underneath my fleece blanket with a picture of a sunset over the ocean on it. My mouth felt as though it was full of cotton, for I'd been sleeping with it open. Sighing slightly, I turned over onto my left side so I could see the red numbers from my alarm clock. It was only three in the morning. I hadn't been able to sleep very well since I'd got home from school and found my mother gossiping about what had "happened" to me. How long could I keep living this lie in front of her?
Sighing louder, I reached over and flicked on my lamp. I didn't want to go back to sleep. Seeing Jack's face melt like that had been very disturbing. This was one dream I wouldn't forget. Yawning, I grabbed the small book sitting next to me on the end table holding the white lamp with the sea painted onto it. This wasn't going to be a very nice night. I'd be completely exhausted tomorrow at school for that essay test.
As I opened the book and started reading, I got the unmistakable feeling that someone else was in the room with me. But that didn't make any sense. My parents were noisily snoring in their room, oblivious to the fact that I couldn't sleep. There was no one else inside my house. At least, there shouldn't have been anyone else. If there was...well, they were either a burglar or an alien. Both possibilities frightened me. I'd always been afraid of aliens appearing in my closet or something.
The feeling grew so strong as I read sentence after sentence that I couldn't bear it any longer. Sighing, I shut my book and placed it back on the end table, slowly lifting the fleece blanket off of my body and slipping out of bed. My bare feet tingled slightly as I touched some magazine cover on my floor. It was so cold that it gave me the impression it was slimy. Frowning, I walked towards the door of my rather unordered room. Well...perhaps it would be better for me to compare my room to a disaster area after a hurricane or tornado. I hated having a clean room, for I could never find what I was looking for. That's why I let various articles of clothing accumulate on the blue carpet. No point in cleaning it if it was just going to give me headaches.
It seemed to take me forever to reach the light switch. Why couldn't the light switch be close to my bed? Frowning slightly at my particularly lazy thoughts, I hit the switch to the on position, blinking a few times to adjust to the intensity of the lights. Why was it always so hard for my eyes to adjust to light in the middle of the night? It really didn't make much sense to me. Then again...what did I know?
My vision cleared a few moments later, and I swear that my jaw dropped to the floor as I realized who had been staring at me as I slept fitfully. "Jack?" I finally managed to ask, wondering if I could still be asleep.
He didn't make any move as he calmly surveyed me with those mahogany brown eyes of his. They seemed a bit glossy as they stared at me. Why weren't his hands moving? And how long had he been here?
Frowning and muttering something quite rude under my breath, I walked over to my chair to get a closer look at him. And to slap him again for leaving me. As I lifted my hand up to give him a blow he deserved, he softly said, "Please don'."
My hand stopped in mid-air as my heart melted. The look of pain on his face was so clear suddenly that it almost made me want to cry out from it. What had happened to him. "Jack?" I asked softly, kneeling next to the chair and wishing he would move.
"I don' think I can leave your side for long," he finally answered after a long, pregnant pause. The only thing that was moving were his eyes and mouth. "I don' really know wha's wrong wiv me. Or how I managed t' get back 'ere wivout wakin' ye up."
I nodded, not really knowing what to say. What had hurt him? I longed to ask the pirate captain that question...but I knew he'd tell me when he was ready. He seemed a bit disappointed in being back here. Obviously the apology still stood. Why did I feel like I had to forgive him? Honestly...if he'd been any other man, I'd call an ambulance and wash my hands of the whole situation.
"D' ye think you could 'elp me on'o the bed?" he asked a few moments later, puzzle in his voice as he watched me think about him. It had to be odd for him to watch someone think about his predicament.
"Sure," I responded after the words made sense to my ears. He moved his arm weakly around my shoulder and I almost carried him to the bed. Goodness, he was heavy! If I hadn't been taking body conditioning, I don't think I would've been able to assist the limp man to my bed. He seriously couldn't support his own body weight.
"What happened?" I asked after I regained my composure and put a blanket over him. I could now see that he was violently shivering.
Alteng: I would side with Megan as well, actually. I'd believe that the rape had made the girl a bit loopy...And I have read Horton Hears a Who. That book...wow...it really made me think. But some physicists seriously think there are other universes out there that we just can't see...they give gravity as evidence. Kinda crazy...
And her parents...well, they're kinda crazy. Would you let a strange man sleep in your house if you had a teenaged daughter? I'd hope not. You'd think someone else would realize that he looked an awful lot like Jack Sparrow...
Well, I can't be Valedictorian any more. I dropped my ninth AP class...but my class rank is 2 out of 411...
Jack: Well, the reason it is written in first person (and that the character has no name) is so that it is easier for you to picture him yourself. But...it is rather odd that your life is so similar to my fiction. Maybe you'll run into Jack Sparrow!
Emx: I'm glad you're enjoying it so much. I try to be as professional about this story as possible. Thank you for your compliments and review!
Pirates-arr-me-life63: I'm sorry it took me over a week to update. I get into moods...sometimes I want to keep writing, sometimes I don't. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. And thank you for the compliment and review!
Laura: Well, apparently I chose a path. Not one I'd expected to choose...actually, not one I'd even really considered...but thanks for the review and the compliments! I can never have too much of either...
Sparrowschik: Well, I just had to see if I could make it so people didn't like Jack...apparently I could. Thanks for leaving a review full of compliments! I'm updating as much as I can. If I dropped out of school, I could update more...but my mom would kill me if I did that.
jack sparrow is a SEXY beast: Thanks for the compliments! And I'm glad I could actually make people not like Jack...well, not really, because he's been giving me a hard time about it...anyway, thanks for the review!
sunkist3208: Where exactly does Chakaluka come from? And the conversation between Katie, Daisy, and Megan is kinda like the conversations I have in independent study. Ya know...a lot of what the character says is what I think. Like the Barbie thing...gah. So ebil.
I like your name, Whitney. Tis uber spiffy! It is unisex...but I'll always think of you when someone mentions your name... Yay! More long reviews!
Holly Berries: Well, I obviously continued...I'm glad you liked the last chapter. Thanks for leaving a review!
orcachick2005: She might've been raped. I'm not sure what the state laws for New York are, and I'm too tired to look it up right now. Anyway, I'm glad that you think Daisy sounds like you, seeing as she's mostly you with only a smidgen of Marie tossed in...and I hope you like the whole bit about the musical. I just used the first one that came to mind, hence the odd selection...actually, my sister-in-law was in Fiddler. She has red hair...
Wow..I went of on a tangent there. Sorry about that. Thanks for the review and the constant support!
CrazyPirateGirl: Well, she was lying to herself. Obviously she can't forget him... Thanks for leaving a review! And for the compliments. I like compliments. Since you were the first reviewer, you get a loverly poster of Jack...