A/N: PLEASE READ ALL A/Ns…they're here for a reason! Ok, thanks guys. First off, in this chapter, and later into the story too, as the characters begin to have more dialogue, you will notice that the grammar won't always be perfect. The fact of the matter is that people don't speak with perfect grammar, so I don't see why I should make the characters talk that way. Secondly, I'm putting a warning for language on this chapter just to be sure I'm covered, but it's really not much language. Alright, well, enjoy!
Ch. 2- Supporting Sanity
"Mr. Sparrow?" The familiar voice echoed through the phone.
"This is him…who's calling?"
"Son, this is the president."
"…I'm sorry?"
"The President of the United States." Mr. Turner stated robotically.
"…Mike, get the fuck off the phone. It's not funny this time, man." Jack replied.
"Excuse me? I met you at the press conference about two months ago, son; I need your help."
"OH! OH SHIT!...I mean, excuse me sir. I thought it was a friend of mine playing a joke; please forget, uh, everything I just said."
The president rubbed his face with his hand, pinching the bridge of his nose. This was the only man who could help him. "Mr. Sparrow, I need a favor from you."
Jack hesitated for a moment. He didn't like the man enough to help; he wasn't going to give up his time for this conceited, self-absorbed, scandal-starting, arrogant-
Turner cut off Jack's thoughts. "Son, it's for our country."
Jack threw his arms in the air in defeat; there was no way he could say no now. Back in his days of meager fame, he had promised himself that he would use his influence to help. It sounded corny, true, but Jack knew that he was a role model for millions of people across the country. That sounded corny too. Well, despite how clichéd it was, Jack knew that his influence could change the minds of millions…and with the country beginning to split in two directions (the war was generating its die-hard supporters and its die-even-harder opponents), Jacks self-promise kicked in. If it was for the good of the country, he had to help.
With his hatred for the governments love of war burning in his mind, and all the atrocities of the American government pushed aside, Jack sighed.
"Alright," he said. "I'll help…what does the country need me to do?"
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Two days later…
"William, you remember Mr. Sparrow, don't you?" The president inquired, standing next to Jack in the large entryway of the White House.
"Of course," Will replied, his voice employing more warmth than his father's fake cheeriness. Jack and Will lightly shook hands.
It had been two months. Despite that, Will immediately recognized the actor. He was someone who actually heard what Will was saying when he spoke.
I'm so desperate for anyone to listen to me…that's why I miss Liz so much, Will thought quietly.
As Will was contemplating, Jack was meeting the lads mother. She was a small, quiet woman who mostly kept to herself; she was too shy for press conferences and the like. "Lisa, this is Mr. Sparrow." The president introduced them curtly.
"Mr. Sparrow is here to help me gain some ratings boosts. It was so very kind of him to
agree, so he'll be staying here for a month…maybe more, depending on how it all goes."
The elder Turner noticed the vacant stare on Wills face and rushed to account for it.
"William turned 18 last month…you know teenagers, completely in their own world!" He laughed a little too enthusiastically. It quickly turned into a frown.
"Well, I turned 28 in February…do I still count as a teenager?" Jack cracked a half-grin.
President Turner simply looked at him oddly, then spoke.
"…Well, Jack, old boy, let me show you the Oval Office, it's a beautiful room!" Jack calmly allowed himself to be herded in that direction as Will and his mother went back to their respective rooms, effectively escaping the wrath of the "Oval Office tour" that was considered mandatory for all guests.
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Will slowly made his way back to his room, bored out of his mind. It was two-thirty in the afternoon. What was he supposed to do for the rest of his day? He paused on steps to examine them, stared at paintings on walls, and took the long way wherever possible. Finally, he was forced to go into his room and do…something.
He was bored, that's all there was to it. Scanning his room for some form of entertainment, his eyes fell upon his secret collection of DVDs (his father felt that movies were a waste of time) and began flipping through them. It felt as though he'd seen every single one of them hundreds of times. Still, something told him to keep going. Finally, he pulled out the last one in the stack. It was one of his older movies, unwatched for at least a few months. The film was actually very acclaimed, with a star-studded cast and a well-revered director. Barely recognizable on the cover was Jack Sparrow. The name at the top of the case caught Wills eye as he was walking over to his television. Jack Sparrow.
Quickly opening the case and setting the movie in the DVD player, Will then sprawled out on his bed, wondering how much smaller the world could get.
When dinnertime rolled around, he grudgingly turned off the TV and trudged downstairs to the dining room.
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He took his seat on one side of the overly-long table and prepared to be ignored. For once, he was wrong.
"…Will, if I EVER have an inkling to spend more than five unsupervised minutes with your father again, please remind me of that tour; then, pull me out of my delusions." Jack plopped down into the seat next to Will, as far away from the president as possible.
Will raised his eyebrow, giving Jack the strangest look he could muster.
"I'm willing to bet that that came out wrong…"
"Yep, sure did." Will offered, quelling absolutely none of Jack's fears.
"Scratch that last comment, then…let's just say that your father is the most revolting, self-centered, money-grubbing, power-hungry person I have ever met. Ever."
Will quietly scratched his head. Jack was being awfully friendly, especially for having met him only once before in his life. Will saw a flickering movement out of the corner of his eye. A maid was flinging her arms around in hysteria and crying in happiness. She waved at Jack, ushering him over towards her. Jack got up from the table.
As Will watched, he walked over and treated her in the exact same "extremely friendly" manner. He asked her name, grinned broadly, and ended up signing five autographs for her.
Will sighed. Evidently, he was just a really outgoing person. He decided that he should use it to his advantage and try to become friends; he didn't have anyone to hang out with. Sadly, he was stuck in the large house all day, secluded from the outside world and nearly everyone who existed in it.
As Jack returned to the table, the chefs served dinner.
Will dragged his fork around on his plate. He poked it in the dark green mush, deciding that it consisted of road kill that had died two weeks ago and was left out in the sun to decompose until the chefs had found it.
Sensing eyes staring in his direction, Will looked up. His father was deep in conversation with some haughty businessman, his mother was quietly eating and absorbing every bit of the conversation, and the other guests were idly chatting amongst themselves.
Wills head turned to his left. Jacks eyes flitted to the green mush that Wills fork was penetrating.
"Road kill that died four weeks ago and was left to disintegrate in the heat until the chefs scraped it off the road with HIV-infected needles." Jack spouted animatedly, his body language exaggerating his words.
"Really? I only thought two weeks and that it was scraped off with something normal…"
"I'm the expert; I actually tasted a bit…I think half of my tongue was disintegrated..." He stuck said muscle out of his mouth and crossed his eyes as he tried to get a look at it.
Will lifted the end of the fork up to his nose. Inhaling quickly, he coughed as the stench overpowered his nostrils.
"Yeah," he wheezed, "four weeks and used needles."
Handling his fork as though it could bite, he set it down on his plate. Then he sighed and yearned for dinner to be over.
His wish wouldn't be granted until well after midnight.
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Jack Sparrow was an actor…a very famous one…especially in the female community. So it came as no surprise to him that teenage girls had flooded the gates of the White House for the entire day. His PR rep had released the news of Jack's presidential stay into newspapers all over the country days earlier in order to get his name in the news- a way to keep him on the public's mind and keep his movies full of audiences. The bad part of that for him was that people also tended to mob him more often since he was so damn famous.
Either way, Jack went out of his way to support the fans that made his career possible. Even if that required hours of time out of his day to sign autographs and give hugs.
In fact, the entire reason he was enduring this ridiculous popularity stint on the presidents behalf was his American fans. He couldn't stand to see the country that made his pursuit of acting possible be ripped to pieces. If only he could get that fool Turner off the microphone for a few minutes and send a message of unity and coherence to the people during a press junket, thereby healing the wound. He thought that if he could just get that out there, the problems would be solved and he could prevent any altercations between the war supporters and opponents. Wouldn't these enemies come together when the future of the country depended on it? Depended on their strength? He believed in the sanity of the country.
He always supported what he believed in.
Ooohh foreshadowing! Again, please review, I'd like to keep going with this story and get to the good stuff! Any questions, comments, praises , etc are always welcome!