So I'm back with a second chapter. And before you read, READ THIS NOTE:

I am well aware this is not the same story that happened in the books with Jack and the East India Trading Company. I'm twisting it in my own way for the benefit of this story, so bear with me.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 2

Jack's cracking and dry voice caught Zoe off gaurd, and she backed away, embarrassed. She had never really had contact with a lot of men before, and without her mother around, it made it even harder for her. She wasn't scared of them, she had just been primarily raised by her mother and her mother's friends, who never had husbands or brothers around. The girls were always taught to have utmost respect towards men, so reaching out to touch him as he did was fairly bold for her.

"I'm sorry Mr. Sparrow, it- um, well…" Zoe trailed off, twisting the end of her braid and pushing the loose hair out of her face. "It looks painful."

Jack licked his lips. "It's not pleasant." He gritted. "Thank you."

Zoe looked at him, "What are you thanking me for?"

"You're not sending me out onto the street."

Zoe narrowed her eyes. "How do you know?"

"You put me on a bed, and you're fretting over wounds, luv." Jack answered.

"I couldn't send you to your death." The words were out of Zoe's mouth before she even knew it.

"My death? Isn't that a little extreme?"

Zoe clenched her teeth, feeling tears sting at her eyes. She swallowed the lump in her throat, and answered. "I've recently lost someone, and I'm a bit squirrely about it, is that alright? Because I guarantee no one else here is just going to accept you with no problems!" She exclaimed.

Jack's eyes got wide for a moment, before he realized: she had saw his brand. "You've seen it. You know what it means. Why haven't you gotten rid of me?"

"What are you talking about?" Zoe said, still feeling a bit sick from the sight of Jack's wound.

Jack was a bit shocked at her response, and mentally cursed himself. He needed a drink. A strong one. "Nothing." He answered quickly.

"Not nothing. Tell me what you are talking about, or you will be searching for a new place of residency." Zoe instructed, pointing at Jack's injured wrist.

He sighed. "I was being chased by people."

"What people?" Zoe asked, sitting on the other bed so she faced Jack.

"The East India Trading Company." He admitted.

Zoe paused. She knew who they were, but it still didn't make any sense to her. "Continue…"

"I might have released some of their cargo, and ended up on the wrong side of the director." Jack said, glancing down at his injured wrist. It looked worse than the last time he had looked at it.

"So they burned you?" Zoe asked, looking at his wrist curiously.

In his head, Jack was panicking. He didn't want her to kick him out. He had nowhere to go, and nowhere to let his wounds heal. He had no ship, and no crew. Looking at the blonde-haired girl in front of him though, he really didn't think her capable of such a deed. Sighing, Jack rubbed a hand over his mouth, stroking his beaded beard.

"Not for that exactly, but because I might have, say, engaged in some unlawful behavior in my younger years…." He trailed off, and Zoe raised her eyebrows impatiently. "I'm a pirate, alright?"

Zoe backed away immediately, standing from the bed she was on. "A pirate?"

She knew about pirates. They had drove them from their hometown, and they tried to attack the ship that her mother and her had made the voyage to Port Nassau on. Her face hardening, Zoe dug her nails into her palm. "You need to leave."

Jack shook his head. "Luv, I-"

"Don't call me that. Why did you even come here if you knew you'd get caught, one way or the other?" Zoe tapped her fingers against her thigh, feeling the nervousness she had felt earlier returning.

"I had nowhere else to go. I'm wounded, look at me." Jack stopped, giving her his best puppy eyes. It had always worked on his mother when he was a young child, and he could tell this woman in front of him was a nurturing type.

Zoe wrung her hands together. "This is crazy. This is absolutely mad."

"Can I make you a deal?" Jack asked suddenly.

Zoe's head snapped back towards the scruffy-looking man on her bed. "What?"

"A deal. If you allow me to stay in your lovely abode until I'm healed, I can take you on the adventure of a lifetime." Jack said, a smile pulling at his lips as he thought of the Caribbean Sea, sailing across its crystal blue waters.

"An adventure?" Zoe slowly sat down again, interest somewhat piqued. Jack nodded.

"I'm not a bad pirate, or a bad man. I became a pirate to do what I love, and be with what I love." Jack told her, his hands unconsciously moving around in front of him.

"And what's that?" Zoe asked, pulling out the loop of fabric that was holding her braid in place.

"The sea. I love the sea, and I love to sail." Jack explained, gazing out the tiny window in the direction of the beach.

"You want to take me out to sea?"

"Yes. I want to take you to see the sea. Hold on. Yeah, that's right. See the sea." Jack offered.

Zoe was silent. She just lost her mother, and she just met this man. This mad, crazy, charismatic man that fainted in her shop. He wanted to take her out to sea. She'd always wanted to go on an adventure. And his words awakened a sense of adventure in her that had long been suppressed.

But he was a pirate. And she'd only known him for less than a day!

Not a bad one though, he'd said. But all pirates were bad, weren't they? Zoe closed her eyes and rubbed a hand over her face, smoothing out the wrinkles she felt between her eyes.

"Hello?" Jack waved a hand in front of her face.

"I'll think about your offer. You can stay here. Just… I need my own space, and-" Jack cut her off.

"You've never been with a man before, have you?" Jack observed, with a slight smile on his face as she blushed.

"Am I married?" She retorted.

Jack looked around, and glanced at her fingers. "It doesn't look that way."

"Then there's your answer."

++PIRATES++

Two days later, Zoe walked down the main path, a long, beautiful dress draped over her arm. It was for Port Nassau's Governor's wife; there was a ball coming up for all of the government officials and their relatives. Her mother had made the gown, and it was beautiful shade of baby blue, with silver accents that made it stand out against most of the other beige and yellow-colored dresses. Back at the shop, Zoe had managed to finish the stitching and eventually the dress, so it would be ready for the ball. As she reached the governor's mansion, she glanced around, making sure she wasn't followed.

As it were, even with their deal in order, Jack was still a bit paranoid that she was going to report him. The previous day, he had wanted to accompany her to make sure she didn't, but she refused. Today though, she had managed to escape while he was sleeping, so she didn't have the pirate constantly bothering her about tagging along. Zoe was rather offended he did not trust her, especially when she had allowed him to stay at her house, but she wasn't dwelling on it. He was injured- more severely than she had previously known, with a long gash across his torso and other abrasions scattered across his body. She knew somewhere, deep down, that it was an insane idea to keep him in her house and not report it, but she was lonely. Very lonely since her mother was gone, and she had no one to keep her company at home. Having someone there was nice, even if it seemed wrong.

Knocking on the door, a butler answered promptly. "How may I be of service, Miss Ricci?"

Zoe smiled. "Thank you, Benjamin. I just have the lady's dress, and I wanted her to make sure it fits in case any alterations need to be made before the ball."

Nodding, Benjamin held a hand out, and Zoe carefully draped the dress over his arm. "The lady is currently out right now, but I will pass along your message. Have a lovely day, Miss Ricci. My condolences, to you, by the way." He added the last part with a look of pity.

Giving a tight smile, Zoe nodded. "Thank you, Benjamin." Turning from the mansion, Zoe began to walk back towards the shop, only to pause and turn again. The house was so large and beautiful. So many windows and paintings. It was gorgeous. She admired the house for a few moments more, before turning to walk back to the shop. How she'd love to live somewhere like that. Any sane person would.

Arriving back to the shop, Zoe pushed the door open. She was greeted with the sight of Jack sitting shirtless on the floor digging through a pile of shirts, his back to her. She quietly shut the door, as he hadn't noticed her yet. Fascinated, Zoe couldn't help but stare at his back. It was covered from shoulders all the way down past the waistline of his trousers, in tattoos. It was a long saying, though she couldn't decipher it from her vantage.

"You know, I'm not good at picking out new clothes." Jack remarked, causing Zoe to jump.

"Jack! Uh- I'm sorry, I must have dazed for a moment. And yes, that's my stack of child's clothes. Let me grab you one." Zoe said, quickly walking across the small room to a different stack, where she pulled out a loose, light blue cotton shirt. She handed it to Jack, who wrestled it over his head. He flinched visibly as the material rubbed over the brand on his arm, and Zoe walked forward. He had refused to let her take care of the horrid wound, but she wasn't going to watch him favor it forever.

"Let me take care of your wrist, for heaven's sake." Zoe said, grabbing the small wash basin outside the door, full of rain water. She grabbed a scrap of cloth, and held it.

Jack looked rather hesitant, and she shook her head. "Come on."

"Fine. Bloody fine." He grumbled, sitting back down on the floor. Zoe sat across from him, and Jack held out his arm. "Be gentle. I don't like it rough."

Immediately, Zoe flushed. "And you be proper."

"I believe we make mighty fine friends, luv." Jack said with a smile. Zoe raised an eyebrow.

"And why's that, Mr. Sparrow?"

"Opposites attract, don't they? We're quite opposite, if I do say so myself."

"That might be true Jack, but you are quite a mysterious friend."

"And how's that?" He inquired as Zoe dabbed the cloth over his wrist gently. He flinched in pain, and she grimaced.

"You haven't told me about your past, or much other than the present and how you wound up here. I've told you my life's story… why don't you tell me yours?"