I spend the whole evening thinking about the past events. The thing that happened at school... It was beyond weird. Still I can't get past this feeling that I should know the man with the hood. But how? Part of me tells me I have nowhere to know him from. Another part of me is annoyed by not remembering him. But whatever it was, it had something to do with Jason. I missed some information, so I couldn't get to make any links.

'Loreen?'

Mom's voice wakes me from my thoughts. I realise I had been stabbing the fries on my plate without having eaten any of them. I hesitantly grab some with my fork and take them to my mouth. After an awkward silence I get up, take the plate and a cup of spicy ketchup and head over to my room. Fortunately my parents don't ask for any explanations, for which I am really thankful.

I climb the stairs to my room. I close the door behind me, lie the plate on my nightstand and browse through some books in my library. Yeah, they're not the newest and shiniest books, since most were bought from other people or given to me, but they are mine and that matters first and foremost. Unlike many people these days, my primary source of information are the books, not the Internet. Piracy... Blackbeard... Queen Anne?... I search through some history books/encyclopedias. In all of them I find pretty much the same thing: The golden age of piracy was a period in the 18th century when pirates grew to their current renown. After the treaty between the British and the Spanish, men who has enrolled for a life as privateers were no longer needed. Most of them hadn't obtained all the prizes, plunder and adventure they sought, so they continued their lives as pirates. I already knew that. Nobody said nothing about hooded pirates. Not a word. I find some names, though. But when doing the extra research on the internet I get nothing to do with the hooded pirate. Then why was he in my head?!

'Loreen, sweetheart, are you alright?' I hear my father ask from the kitchen.

'Yeah, I'm...' I choke on my words. I cough a little , then I continue. 'I'm fine, dad. I'm just a bit tired. It's been a long day, you know...'

I can hear laughter from the kitchen. Good. Then I hear the familiar knock in most code through the wall. Hello. I manage a smile. Nico... He always knew how to make me feel good. I knock back on the wall. Hello silly. Sup.

Nothing you.

I am fine.

Are you happy.

I think for a second before answering this one. Nico, despite knowing the Morse code, can't manage long steaks of knocks and breaks. So I decide to go for simple.

Yes.

Good night Lori.

Good night Nico.

There is a short pause in which it is all silent. Then I hear more knocks. At first I think it's coming from the door, but they are actually coming from the other room where Nico is knocking I love you involuntarily. We used this pattern of knocks so often that neither of us had to think about it to express it. We had it learned by heart. Without realising, I also start tapping I love you on the wall.

It will never happen again. The blackout. It freaked me out. What if I was sick? I felt a little guilty for not telling this to my parents, but I was already scared out of my mind. I didn't need them to panic.

It will be fine. I sure hope.

My dreams don't really agree. I drift into a different time...

...

Hi there, I really felt like dropping this author's note really quick down here. First I'm sorry for not having posted for so long. I know. Don't start killing me for that. Secondly I have this is feeling that this should be an actual party of the first chapter, but I am to lazy to change it.

I really hope you enjoy it. I love constructive criticism and reviews, so don't forget to leave some either here or on my Quizup account with the same name.

Cheers!

P.S. You might hate me for this cliffhanger over here. I regret nothing. *evil laugh*. It's a short chapter, I know. But wait until you get the next one!