AN (11/29): Wow. Fanfiction sure has been having a lot of troubles lately, eh? Since I don't want to finish my calculus, I decided I'd write this. Or, rather, start writing this. My ideas for this story are getting quite thin...I believe that the next chapter will be the last chapter.
AN (12/3): Sorry for the rather long delays...I've been having quite a case of writer's block on this story...I think tis almost time for me to end it. Probably in the next chapter, actually. And if you want to read more about the whole Meagan thing mentioned in this chapter, check out The Emerald Eyes: A Tale of Mutiny. By me, of course...
All Hallow's Eve: Chapter 8
"Why not?" I questioned softly, a look of both sympathy and disgust on my face. Surely I was a pleasant sight at the moment, wearing my pajamas with little yellow ducks on them with my frizzy bed head. Frightfully warm things, these fleece pants were. If only I could wear them to school...
"Because I don' wan' t' hurt ye...seriously." He frowned and closed his eyes, leaning back on my blue pillow to stare up at the glow in the dark stars I had scattered across my ceiling after he finished blinking. "I've 'ad too many bad experiences wiv women, luv."
"I'd be different," I found myself insisting as I started on his legs. Why wouldn't he believe me? And why did I care what he thought? He'd hurt me...and had only come back because by some miracle he'd realized that I was probably the reason he was in pain.
He flinched, as though I'd struck him across the cheek. "Look...luv, I'm sorry," he said softly, weakly reaching up and touching my cheek as I felt a nasty tear slip out. "Please don' be upset. I think tha' when yer upset...I'm in pain."
"How can I not be upset, Jack?" I asked softly. "I know that I seem like I've gotten over you, in the past two days, but I really haven't! Every time I close my bloody eyes, I see you, Jack. I can't not be upset, not when you're here." I blinked a few times as some more tears managed to sneak their way out of my eyes.
He flinched again. "Look. I'm sorry. I can't change the way ye feel abou' me...bu' I don't belong here, luv. I don't belong here. An' you don't belong back in me time." He sighed heavily, rubbing at his temples with his hands.
"Why are you so afraid of commitment?" I asked softly a few moments later after I'd gained control of my emotions. Blast, I felt like I was on my period. Which I wasn't. Was love always so painful?
He sighed softly, still rubbing at his temples. "I fell in love wiv a girl once. She lef' me...an' I accidentally killed her, all right? Another woman...well, she claimed she loved me. Bu' she turned me in, an' I ended up wiv a bloody brand as a result. Women...I'm not meant for one woman. Surely ye can understand tha', right?"
My mind lingered on his "accidentally killed her" phrase. Did he really mean it? I sighed slightly and sat next to him on my bed. "Accidentally killed her? What happened, Jack?" Of course, it really wasn't my place to pry...but I wanted to know why he couldn't just hold me to keep himself from being hurt. My whole experience sounded like a fairy tale. Shouldn't he just whisk me away on a white horse into the sunset, so we could live happily ever after?
"I met Meagan when I'd 'ad the Pearl for a few years," he started, moving his hands about slightly. It seemed he was in a bit less pain, for there wasn't that intense glossiness in his eyes anymore. "Fell in love wiv her...I even planned t' marry 'er. Imagine, me, Captain Jack Sparrow, marryin' a Reverend's daughter...however, I got really drunk one night. Met up wiv a strumpet. Somehow Meagan found out. She lef' me tha' night. I though' I'd never see 'er again.
"Of course, mos' of the time wha' I think is the complete opposite of wha' actually 'appens. I did see 'er again. But I didn' even really see 'er." He sighed softly, rubbing at some ring on his finger. It was the silver one, with the green gem inside. I'd always wondered why he wore it. This seemed to be some sort of nervous tic, rubbing it. "I was in Nassau. We did somethin' tha' is rather brilliant. Stormed the port an' raided it wivout firin' a single shot from our cannons. Of course...I did fire a shot tha' horrible night. I'd gone t' the governor's house, wiv two of me crew members...an' I was preparin' t' threaten the cowardly governor's life...when someone tried t' hit me o'er the head wiv a vase. I shot blindly...hit her. She fell t' the floor...and kept tryin' t' get me attention. Tha's when I realized it was Meagan. I'd shot her."
I was a bit chilled by the fact that all emotion seemed to drain out of his voice as he talked of killing a woman he'd loved so dearly. But it did make a bit more sense. Just a bit. "Jack...I'm not Meagan!" I insisted, gently rubbing his arm with my magic hands. "I wouldn't leave you if you got drunk and met up with a strumpet." Of course, I'd probably harbor resentment towards him about the incident for the rest of my life... but I wouldn't leave him. How could anyone ever leave such a fine specimen of a man?
He shook his head slightly. "I can't afford t' believe ye, luv. I jus' can't." He took a deep breath, and I realized he was very close to tears. Obviously he still felt guilty for the incident.
"Jack, it was an accident," I insisted softly, gently kissing his cheek. Wow, I was really being bold today. "I'm sure you didn't mean to kill her. And I'm sure that she knows you didn't mean to kill her. You can't keep beating yourself up over this." Perhaps I was just giddy because I realized it wasn't me that was making him so repulsed by me...if that even makes any sense.
He sighed softly, apparently trying to curb his anger. The stupid look on my face must've been quite disturbing, for he suddenly said with much venom, "What d' ye know about it? You're a child, luv. A bloody child with quite a bit of growin' up t' do. I'm over twice yer age."
I bit my lip and tried not to cry as he flinched. "Jack...I'm not as foolish as I used to be. Come on! We need each other! Can't you see that?" I kissed his cheek again. "However...if you don't want me to save your life, I'll just go to the chair and fall asleep. You've needed a woman in your life for far too long."
He shook his head slightly. "Love doesn' exist. Stop wastin' yer breath on an old man who doesn' even know how t' get back home."
I scoffed lightly...but refrained from making a comment as he rolled over in bed and started pretending to be asleep. Apparently his nether regions were feeling better...for I hadn't touched those. While I might be bold enough to kiss his cheek...well, you get the picture.
I hardly slept at all that night as I sat down in my chair. What would I say to my mother? She'd been rather depressed when he'd left...but how could I explain that she was coming back? I couldn't think of any reason why he would. Especially not in the middle of the night. Or how he'd wound up in my room.
I felt like a lump as I prepared for school. Odd how feeling like a lump really is. And quite remarkable, the idea of feeling like a lump. I'm sure that lumps didn't really feel anything. But I was very numb as I ate my breakfast of disgusting warmed oatmeal supposedly flavored like raspberries. Tasted like cough syrup, in my opinion.
My feet seemed to refuse to leave my house that morning. I desperately wanted to stay home and help Jack further...but my mother expected me to go to school again. She seemed to think I was over the whole ordeal somehow. Didn't make sense to me, how she could forget the "trauma" I'd been in so quickly. Perhaps all those sessions at the tanning salon had fried her brain. Or the blob of fat in her head that sometimes made her sound intelligent, whichever you'd rather call it.
Of course, my mind soon rationalized that I was actually doing Jack a favor, by leaving him. Maybe he'd have the chance to think about what I'd said. Dreams of us ending up together were annoyingly floating around in my head as I stepped into the school that morning. I must've looked horrible, since I hadn't really had any sleep at all. I felt rather funny inside my head-most likely a result of the sleep deprivation-and was in both a good mood and a bad mood during all my classes. I found some of the oddest things hilarious...and some jokes cracked at lunch sad enough to make me tear up. Which was odd...I'd never cried at school. Okay, maybe I had. When I'd been failed on my driving test the first time...well, the stupid driver's education instructor had me stay in the car after everyone left so that he could explain why I'd failed. That had been so embarrassing...that I'd cried. But that had been two years ago.
When I stepped onto the bus after school, I felt as though I was in the best of moods again. I'd be seeing Jack! Of course, I hadn't told any of my friends that he'd shown up again. I wanted to enjoy him by myself, at least for another day. Or run off with him. Not that I'd figured out where I could run off with him to. The chances of us getting back to his time were minute. And the chances that he'd be happy living here were even smaller. Unless I could figure out how he'd ended up here, we'd probably never get together. Then again, this was probably all just wishful thinking on my part. I couldn't help it, though, as the many houses of suburbia danced past my face as I sat next to the bus window.
I hated riding the bus. I was a senior, for goodness sake, and I still had to ride the bus to school! My parents already had a car for me to take to college...but my mother was paranoid it'd get stolen from the school parking lot. So I didn't even have keys to it. Which was rather unfortunate, for I felt like an idiot whenever I stepped onto the bus reeking of sophomores. Amazing how a certain age group can smell bad, but it really is the truth. Sophomores seem to love slathering perfume and cologne all over their bodies each morning...and the cologne especially really made all of them reek. I hated walking past the sophomore lockers for the same reason. It was almost enough to cause a migraine.
The bus stopped a few houses away from mine and I got off. There were a curious mixture of thoughts buzzing around in my mind. What if Jack'd left me? I don't think I could handle that again. Despite my assurances to him that I'd grown up a bit, I still had a lot to learn about men. And I probably would have to figure it all out quite fast, seeing as Jack happened to be a man of diverse interests that got bored easily. What had he done, while I was at school? The thought filled me with both dread and curiosity. Perhaps he'd made up some story to tell my mother...
Sighing, I walked towards my house. Since there wasn't a car next to the garage, I realized that my mom had gone off somewhere. Not that I really minded. It would make things easier to have an empty house. Less of a chance of us being caught kissing. Not that I thought I'd really be able to kiss him again. Surely he hadn't believed my words. He was Captain Jack Sparrow, after all, and he didn't need me. Well, he did kind of need me. Otherwise he'd turn into a meat popsicle.
I pulled my keys out of my blue purse with a silver monkey on it and unlocked the front door. Stepping inside after tapping my shoes on the welcome mat, I looked around the very white hallway for a moment before walking towards the kitchen. Odd how I noticed how annoying my squeaky shoes stepping on marble was. Generally I didn't notice such things. My typical day after school involved watching television and doing homework. Not much fun...but it kept me relatively sane.
The thought had crossed my mind that perhaps I was dreaming all of this ordeal as I stuffed my keys back into my purse and reached the family room. There was no sign of the captain. Not that I'd really expected to find him here. Sighing, I walked off to my room and slowly opened the door. What greeted me brought both a blush and a smile to my face. I quickly shut the door again and muttered a, "Sorry," before going into the bathroom to laugh. At least he was still home. And doing much better...the look on his face seemed to have transformed from what it had been last night. Perhaps he'd taken my words to heart.
Once I'd contained my laughter (after all, I was quite tired), I stepped out of the bathroom and smiled at him. He was standing outside of my room, looking at me with an amused look himself. "Guess we still need t' work on tha', eh?" he asked teasingly, gently kissing me on the lips before I really had a chance to react. The look in his dark brown eyes was that of both amusement and affection...much easier to look at than the look of disgust he'd had last night.
"Probably," I responded, trying not to stare at his finely defined muscles. He wasn't wearing a shirt...thankfully he'd put some pants on. I was too much of an immature child to handle the full view, I suppose.
"I've been doin' a lot of thinking," he said softly, reaching over to gently touch my cheek. "An' I've decided that we should run away t'gether. I'm not goin' t' find a better woman than ye, either here, or back there...an' I think that if you come wiv me, I can get back home."
kyna mace: Poppycock is one of the best words ever, Kyna! Ya'd better believe it. -giggles- I've finally gotten you to get a look at my insaneness. Of course, I like my other stories better...but this one appeals to the romantic buried inside everyone. And it isn't me. Tis a girl remarkably like me. Well, not remarkably. But I have her think stuff that I think about. Not that I have a dirty mind. Nope. Not me. Thanks for leaving a review!
meggumscat: Well, he's not hurt anymore. Thank goodness. And thank you oh so much for leaving a review! I hope you enjoy the Bonny Kate. She's a fine little ship made of cardboard...
Jack: I think I successfully avoided describing that...I'd do the same thing. Of course, our protagonist isn't me or you...she's herself...but I think she'd probably end up doing that too...maybe. I dunno. Thanks for the review!
CrazyPirateGirl: Tis all part of the crazy plot I've got going. Really quite random, him showing up injured...anyway, he's here because she asked for someone to show her why she's here. And that's what Jack is for. He's her guide thingy. I guess. Anyway, aye, tis good that Jack can admit he has a problem. Now he can heal. Thanks so much for the review!
blossomlite: Well, I couldn't kill him. Well, I suppose I could...but that never turns out well. Makes it so reviewers hate to leave their sentiments... Anyway, I'm glad you like it so much. And thanks for leaving me a review! I love reviews...make me all warm and fuzzy...
Lady Fae: Thank you! And I'm sorry for the delay!
jack sparrow is a SEXY beast: I think anyone who reads fanfiction would enjoy going back in time with Jack. I know I would leap at the offer. Thanks for your constant encouragement, and I hope you liked this chapter!
Eccentric Banshee: Fanfictionalmost as evil as Neopets. Thanks, poppet, for leaving me a review. It means a lot to me to get one from an authoress as good as you. And aye...that's why her parents are inattentive and her friends are...well, sparse. She needs to have a valid reason to go back. Though, I'd go back even if my parents cared about me and I was the most popular girl in school...-sigh- Thanks for the review! Since you were the first to leave your sentiments, you get yourself a very spiffy pedometer. It's loverly and green...