I'm back! I do believe I may be on a roll!

cornishxxxpixie – Yeah, I know I'm updating quickly – see, my school let out June 10, so there isn't really much else to do. You're not inadequate! Ummm . . . these three chapters are, well, in a row (duh.) And Jack's softer side's gonna hide for awhile, but it's coming back, I promise! He's a pirate, though, so . . . yeah. Thank you for reviewing!

The Flying Breadstick – Yes, there is chemistry between the two – Ah, yes, and the class . . . I feel your pain, I really do. And I plan on letting rum kick Alex's butt a few times before she gets it in control (I think I'll start it early in this chapter. Jack's gonna help her out) – no, I don't think she'll ever stop drinking for good. Now, let me tell the tale of how I got my name . . . (Lol.)

Okay, my friend and I (who just happens to be jackslittlefriend) are both fans of the series of movies Harry Potter and of Draco Malfoy. So one day, at lunch, we were thinking up names for his eye color – it wasn't just gray, it wasn't blue-gray – and we came up with 'lost in madness gray.' When I joined Fanfiction I was having trouble thinking up a name, and I happened to see the paper I had written 'lost in madness gray' on. It sounded cool, so I adapted it as 'me.' And in a way it fits me, but not completely. I'm not really lost in madness (I'm not a basket case, another words) although my life's confusing and hectic.

And know you now. Wow, and I thought it was interesting. Laughs

Anyhow, on with the story.

Chapter seven: Hazy Envy

Alex stared into the fire, still in a daze. Suddenly, something moved and she saw it out of the corner of her eye. With a surprised and frightened yelp, she jumped and grabbed a dagger.

Nothing was there.

After three large, calming breaths, Alex stood and made her way to Jack's room. She listened closely before knocking, not wanting to . . . interrupt anything.

'Who's there?'

'Me.'

'Alex?' He opened the door, and Alex rolled her eyes.

'Do you not have the decency to dress?' she asked curtly, motioning at his bare chest.

'I don't 'ave anythin' t' cover up in that area, so I am dressed, missy. What d'yeh want?' he asked, and she looked over his shoulder.

'Were you busy?'

'No.'

'Good.' She shuttered at the thought of him with a wench. 'I need a drink, Jack. I know I promised, but I need it. Please help me.'

'Come in 'ere – yeh don't want the eunuch overhearin',' Jack grumbled, stepping back to let her in his room. She walked in hesitantly and he closed the door behind her. 'It doesn't mean yeh're weak, mind yeh. I don't know many who can quit drinkin' once they've started. What yeh need t' do is jus' control it.'

'And I do that how?'

'Yeh only drink enough t' satisfy yer cravin's, never enough t' get drunk.'

'Is that what you do?' she asked, turning a sentence that could have been considered rude into a soft cry for help, desperation to know she wasn't strange because of what condition she was in.

'Aye, it's what I do,' he soothed. ''N get some weaker rum than Tortugan . . . I've made that mistake many times.'

'Jack . . . thank you.'

'Fer what?'

'Just being here and helping me. I didn't expect it.'

'I could tell.'

'Sorry.'

He shrugged and walked over to the bed, picking up his shirt and pulling it over his head. She turned around, not sure whether to leave or to stay, but just as she had made her decision, Jack was behind her, pressing a bottle of rum into her hands, his arms around her middle.

'Take a long drawl, darlin', 'n then give it back,' he instructed. She did just as she was told, turning around and placing the bottle in his hands when she was through. 'Whenever yeh want rum, yeh come t' me – if it's been long enough, I'll let yeh 'ave some more, 'n if it hasn't been, then we'll think of somethin' t' take yer mind off o' it 'n yeh'll wait.'

'Okay . . . Sounds easy enough.'

'Yeh're a drunk, love, it's gonna be difficult. Now, c'mon, we're settin' sail today.'

She followed him to the docks, not having to worry about possessions, because she didn't have any. As soon as they reached the ship, Jack boarded it to help load the food and such, and Alex simply watched . . . for awhile, at least.

'Miss O'Conner, could yeh run out 'n get some kitchenware? We forgot it b'fore,' one of the crew asked. Alex nodded and the man gave her a bag of coins, and then she set off, back into town. She had just rounded a corner to the alley with plates and such when someone grabbed her from behind, clamping a hand over her mouth. She fought back, but whoever it was happened to be much larger than she, and she was caught helpless. The person turned her around, hesitantly removing their hand from her mouth, and she gasped softly. It was the same red-haired man she had seen yesterday, the one she had sex with.

'I'm sorry, miss, fer scarin' yeh just then, and yesterday, I'm afraid,' he stated. He had a flowing, deep voice . . . and, Alex thought for the second time, he was quite handsome, but young. 'I just wanted tah apologize fer what happened when we were drunk. I wanted tah give ya this as well, just as a gift.' He pressed a package into her hands, wrapped in brown paper and tied with a length of rope. 'It was me mum's . . . Ya're a beautiful woman, just like her. I thought yeh might like it, seein' as yeh don't get tah wear stuff like that much.'

She opened it, and found it was a dress, made out of very fine silks and velvets in blacks and blood reds. The black bodice was a corset with blood red laces, and the sleeves were slit and laced with blood red laces, also. It was beautiful indeed, but she got the feeling it wasn't old enough to be his mother's.

'Wow . . . thank you, sir. I don't believe I caught your name?'

'Oh, I'm sorry; me name's Robert Hurston, ma'am.'

'Well, Robert, thank you kindly for the dress, but I must be off. My captain has asked for some kitchenware, and I have yet to buy –'

'Ya couldn't jus' try it on, jus' real quick?' he interrupted.

'I guess I could, aye. Do you have somewhere where I could change?'

'Ah, yes - Righ' this way, ma'am.'

He led her down the alley and into a small store, where he appointed her to the bathroom. Considering this was Tortuga, the bathroom was relatively clean. They probably don't bother with bathrooms, that's why, Alex thought with a sly grin. She closed the door and changed, finding the appropriate undergarments wrapped in with the dress as well. Strange. And what was stranger was the fact the dress fit her.

Unable to tie the corset herself, she walked out of the bathroom with her previous clothes carefully folded and in her arms. Robert quickly jumped up from his seat and rushed to her back, tying the laces just tight enough to keep the bodice in place.

'Ya look amazin', if I may say so,' he breathed behind her back. His warm breath tickled her neck, and she secretly trembled in disgust and slight panic. What was he doing – or worse, what was he planning to do?

'Alex?'

'Jack!' She had never been so happy to see the wobbling Jack Sparrow before, and when he saw her, he took a moment to survey her before turning on Robert.

'Mr. -?'

'Hurston, sir.'

'Mr. Hurston, she thanks yeh fer the gift, but we really must be goin'. Long sail ahead o' us,' Jack stated, snaking a protective arm around Alex's shoulders. She sighed in relief once they had left the store.

'Thank you, Jack, thank you so, so much,' she breathed, embracing him.

'He's the man from yesterday, righ'?'

'Yeah – I think he followed me, and then he gave me this dress. He was acting really strange, like he took the other night seriously or something. We have to go in here, I have to pick up some stuff,' she stated, motioning into the correct store. They walked through, with Jack picking up expensive articles and looking them over thoroughly before setting them back down. Alex walked past a mirror and stopped in her tracks – the dress cut low across her chest, exposing a good amount of neck, shoulders, and cleavage. The corset revealed just how thin she actually was, and all in all, she did looked feminine, without it being pink and posies.

'C'mon, love, we don't 'ave all day,' Jack drawled, not even bothering to look at her as he spoke. She sighed softly and walked to the counter, her boots clunking lazily on the planked floor.

'I need a set of kitchenware suitable for a large ship,' she stated, leaning on the counter out of boredom. She looked up at the man working the counter and suppressed a strangely pleased grin. He was unable to take his eyes from the view of her chest, and stumbled over his words until he could.

'Y-y-yes, uh . . . yes, ma'am, coming right . . . Coming right up,' he muttered, turning away in a hurry. He came back with a stack of messy boxes taller than he was and heaved them onto the counter, unpacking one to show off. Jack joined her side, examining the quality of the silver while watching the man. Alex met his eyes, and furrowed her brows. Was that . . . jealousy? No, she decided, He just likes the silver.

'This is the best in all of Tortuga, and probably the Caribbean Sea. Imported from France, they are. The only set we have.'

'How much do I owe you?' Alex asked, hoping she had enough.

'Here, let me see that,' the man said, taking the money purse from her hands. He took out a few coins, stuck them in his pocket, and handed it back to her. She was surprised – it hardly felt lighter than before.

'Thank you, sir,' she stated, and Jack quickly took the boxes and proceeded to carry them back to the ship. Alex followed him, grinning with her newfound power – seduction.

'Don't let yer head get t' big, missy, yeh don't look that good,' Jack stated, looking over her shoulder at her.

'Well, your tastes are obviously higher than most,' she retorted harshly.

'Obviously.'

With her clothes still in her hand, she looked around. She still had money – the man in the crew probably expected her to have spent more, anyhow, and she certainly could use a few things . . .

'Jack, I've got some more stops to make,' she stated.

'Why, yeh like feelin' feminine or somethin'?' he growled from behind the boxes.

'Yes, actually, I do,' she muttered, entering the nearest store. Jack grumbled and waited outside while she shopped, ending with a leather bag to hold the few belongings she now had, a comb, some soaps and perfumes (she got some to share with Anamaria, just in case), and a few hair clips.

'Happy?' Jack snapped when she was through.

'Extremely, yes, and I still have some money to return,' she grinned.

'How much?'

'The same amount I had after buying the kitchenware.'

'Alex, what did yeh do?' Jack asked hurriedly, about to look over his shoulder, but she stopped him.

'Don't give us any more attention than we need,' she muttered under her breath. 'There's enough drunks in this town that if they even know something's gone, they won't even suspect us.'

''N if they do?'

'Hopefully we'll be far away. Oh, come on, you can't tell me you've never done something like this . . . you're a bloody pirate.'

''N yeh're not!'

'Jack, shut up.'

'I am yer cap'n, don't yeh dare tell me t' –'

'You'd be dead if it wasn't for me, so yes, I can and will tell you to shut up!' she hissed, nudging him so he'd stay on the path to the docks. He did indeed stay quiet, but refused to speak to her at all for the rest of the day.

Once they had set sail and were on their way, Alex took to the kitchens, making dinner for the rest of the crew. Jack wasn't speaking to her, Will was too busy thinking about Elizabeth to care about her, and the rest of the crew wouldn't even look at her, so it was the best she could do. She made the best meal she could with the food given, laid it out on the table, rang the dinner bell . . . and disappeared after setting Jack's food in the captain's cabin.

Her room was smaller than the rest, with two hammocks already hung. So Anamaria doesn't mind me that much, she mused. She had just pulled off the dress when there was a knock on the door.

'Come in and be scarred for life,' she warned, but whoever it was entered anyhow. Ana grinned when she saw Alex watching the door.

'I don't think I'll be too scarred . . . nothing I 'aven't seen before,' she smiled. ''N seein' as we're bunkin' together, we'll both be seein' a lot o' each other fer awhile.'

'Yeah, I guess you're right – I thought one of the men had come to pester me about more chores or something,' Alex smiled.

'You cooked a good dinner. If they aren't gonna thank you, I will,' Ana stated plainly, also changing into a pair of baggy pants and an even baggier shirt. 'It's cool outside, so I figured I'd take advantage of it. You wanna join me? No more chores, I promise.'

'Sure, just let me do something with my hair – God, it gets on my nerves sometimes.'

Ana grinned and waited patiently for Alex, inspecting the soaps and perfumes Alex had bought with dancing eyes. By the time Alex was ready, she was wearing her shirt, pants, and boots in a casual style, and her hair was in a messy bun on the back of her head, falling out of the top of the clip to spill down her neck. They departed the room and walked along the deck, talking about things that didn't really matter but kept them entertained all the while. And then, suddenly, Jack approached Ana, still ignoring Alex.

'Ana, yeh 'n Gibbs are put in charge of the firs' mate position,' Jack stated, and Alex set her jaw. After all she had done for him, he still wouldn't recognize her! 'I won't put up with any arguin' over who has more power 'coz yeh both 'ave equal power, alrigh'?'

'Aye, cap'n.'

Jack turned, headed toward the helm, and ran smack into Alex. She fell onto the deck because of the impact, and he looked down at her.

'Watch where yeh're goin'.'

She furrowed her brows and watched him walk off angrily, her hands clenched into fists. Ana offered her a hand, but she stood up on her own.

'Hey, don't take yer anger out on me, Alex,' Ana said, and Alex sighed.

'I'm sorry, Ana, it's just . . . I'm not sure. I'm mean, I wanted to be first mate, yeah, but that really doesn't bother me too much. Jack, he's so . . . so . . .' she growled, unable to find a word that fit.

'You want him t' notice you and because he's ignoring you and talkin' to me, you got upset, right?'

Alex thought it over for a long, long while, and then nodded. 'Kind of, in a way.'

'I know how you feel. I used t' work on this old, raggedy boat with two other women, each a good sailor. But I had been friends with the cap'n fer awhile before then, and suddenly he took more interest in this one girl, endin' up beddin' her and givin' her a baby. I never fancied him or nothin' of the sort, but I had been working for him because he was my friend, and he up and ignored me one day for this other woman.'

'Jack gets mad at me for stupid reasons, though. I mean, at first he acted like he was mad at me for drinking, when I first met him, and now he's telling me to drink, just sparingly, and Lord knows he's a drunk if I've ever seen one. And now he's not talking to me because I stole some stuff outta Tortuga, and he's a goddamn pirate!"

'He's Jack Sparrow – trying to figure him out would probably kill us,' Ana stated. 'Don't worry over him – he's a fool, but he's a good man. He'll come around.'

'I'm not sure why I want him to, but . . . good,' Alex breathed, glancing out to sea.

Another chapter done, and another following, all in the same day! Wow! jackslittlefriend, I'm catching up with you!