IMAGINARY REALITY

Written By HeyKyra13

(AN: Howdy, all. I swear, I started off as a spectator, just like you, and next thing I know, I found myself sitting at my computer, wondering how Will and Jack would react to a Southern California beach setting, which was where Kat and Riley lived... well, I suppose if I were honest, I didn't have to wonder too much about Jack's reaction. But without even meaning to, my little daydream turned into a thirty-three page long monstrocity. I had intended on just giving it to Riley as a present (our presents tend to consist of more reading material than bows), but after thirty minutes of reading, laughing, and failing to subdue her dog, she announced that it was going to turn into a chapter. Woot. So now my ficlet is an official chapter. Imagine that. Hope you enjoy. Kat)

Chapter 27: Walk Away

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An alarm clock is a rather simple device. For about fifteen dollars, you are privileged with the gift of a small plastic box, occasionally adorned with illuminating stickers if you throw in a few quarters. And if you're lucky enough to be absolutely nothing like Kat, knowing her particular skill with anything of the electronic species, it may even work!

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Yeah. Lucky. Right.

She rolled over, accidentally pushing her pillow to the ground and resting her cheek on the bare mattress. Even with her ear muffled by a thick layer of fabric and springs, the beeping was no less annoying. She groaned, reaching her hand around her head to pat awkwardly for the pillow that was no longer there. For some reason, the half of her brain that was still stubbornly determined to remain unconscious deduced that a thin, two-year old pillow would serve as adequate protection against the screaming.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

It figures, she thought grimly, that now of all times would my alarm clock decide to throw away a perfectly good record of not going off. She muttered a string of words one could only learn from spending months on a seventeenth century pirate ship before groping around for the damned box. Unless she somehow got bashed across the head with a sledgehammer, she wasn't going back to sleep again. Well, this is certainly a wonderful start to a new day, isn't it?

Beep! Beep! Be- SMASH!

Any last sleepy thoughts were instantly catapulted miles away as Kat sat up and looked around wildly. "Wha-what!? What's going-"

"Katherine, are you alright?"

At first, she thought she was still dreaming- Did I stay up watching Pirates of the Caribbean again? But after a rapid succession of blinks did nothing to change what she was seeing, she had to finally accept that it was real.

There was William Turner, son of Bootstrap Bill Turner, panting heavily and staring down at her smashed alarm clock, half of which had fallen to the floor while the other half sparked ominously on the end of his sword. His normal white shirt, sword belt and breeches were exchanged for an oversized Winnie-the-Pooh t-shirt and red plaid flannel pants. To call his normally well-kept hair a "bird's nest" would be an insult to avians everywhere, and his expression was torn between concern and bewilderment at the thing he "slayed".

His breath slowly came back, but only after he assured himself that her alarm clock was no longer a threat. His blue eyes darted to meet hers, a little alarmed at her shocked silence. "Katherine? Are you… you're not hurt, are you?"

The poor boy looked so stricken at the thought, and she knew that she should have thought of something else besides how utterly adorable he looked. But for the life of her, she responded in the only way her frazzled mind could.

"What the hell do you think you two are doing, waking me up at the butt crack of dawn!?" Riley demanded, stomping into her room seconds later. Her eyes, crackling blue fire with irritation, instantly snapped to Kat. "What the hell are you laughing at? What the hell is she laughing at?" She glared at Will for an answer.

Will just stared at Kat, no doubt wondering whether he should be worried or not. Riley didn't find this an acceptable answer. "Is no one going to tell me what the hell happened?"

It took serious effort to direct her thoughts to what she was saying- not on the fact that she had said "what the hell" four times in a row- but all Kat could manage was to point a shaking finger at the dismembered clock on the ground before she actually rolled off the bed, gasping for breath. Riley took one look at the severed device, speared a glance at Will and his sword, then threw her hands up in disgust. "I can't believe you woke me up for this," she groaned. She turned and made her way back out the door. "I'm going back to bed, and I swear, if anyone or anything wakes me before noon, you won't wanna know where I'll shove my sword."

Poor Will was left so completely and adorably confused, Kat actually made a half-serious effort to calm down. And all it took was her looking up into an Orlando Bloom clone donning a huge Disney shirt and an expression that was dangerously close to a pout.

And down she went.

About an hour later, Kat was standing in the kitchen in a red tank top and the pajama pants matching Will's shirt, poking at sizzling bacon with a fork. She was still giggling over this morning, although at least now she could draw breath. But in her defense and to quote her best friend, that was pretty damn funny!

"It appears you have sufficiently recovered," came a rather indignant voice.

She cast a smirk over her shoulder. "Aw, come on, you're not still mad at me, are you?"

Will, back in his normal clothes, was leaning against the doorframe, sporting a rather impressive scowl. He wasn't all that pleased when she explained why she had been laughing so hard. His pride was jabbed at and she could understand that. But you try watching a famous Disney icon and teeny-bopper heartthrob attempt to defend you from an alarm clock sporting Winnie-the-Pooh on his chest and see if you can keep a straight face.

"I'm afraid I cannot yet speak for myself, but I would not count on Miss Riley's forgiveness," he replied shortly.

He seemed pretty pissed, but Kat knew better. She shrugged before turning back to her breakfast. "She'll forgive me."

Will raised an eyebrow at her. "You seem… confident."

Kat said nothing but continued smiling as she moved to fetch a plate from the cupboard. She had to dig a fork out of the dish washer before she proceeded to fill the plate with eggs, bacon, toast and a handful of cookies from the jar next to the sink. Will watched her silently, his expression betraying none of the curiousness she knew was there. She crossed the kitchen to stand directly across from him, grinning as she held out the plate. He stared at it, completely baffled, but otherwise didn't move.

They didn't have to wait long. It took about twenty seconds before they heard a door opening further down the hall. Without a word, Riley stalked out toward her friend, snatched the plate from her hands, and made her way back to her room. Kat's now free hands curled into fists to be planted on her hips while she flashed Will a smirk. "See? I'm forgiven."

She could tell he was fighting back a smile. "So I see."

She nodded and returned to plating breakfast for the rest of them. Jack's plate she ended up having to stick in the microwave. The infamous pirate captain was still lounging on the couch, snoring like a… well, like a drunken sailor. He sleeps even longer and heavier than Riley, which is a feat in and of itself. Kat wrinkled her nose at him before turning to catch Will eying the cookies warily.

When he reached for his own plate from her hand, she held it back. "Am I forgiven?" she asked, attempting to be serious.

She was rewarded with a dazzling smile before he leaned down to plant a feather-light kiss on her forehead, a clever distraction while he plucked his plate out of her grasp. "Always."

"Would someone kindly inform me as to why in the bloody hell I am awake at this god-awful hour!!!"

Will and Kat exchanged some rather amused smiles while Riley rolled her eyes, feigning ignorance. "This 'god-awful hour', Sparrow, is one o'clock in the afternoon, so shut yer yap and git yer ass up now!"

It really is funny how much the two of them sound exactly like each other, Kat mused, not bothering to hide her grin. Riley noticed and scowled at her. No doubt she knew where her line of thought was running. Kat shrugged innocently, which earned her nothing but a very pirate-like snort.

Sparrow speared a groggy glare at Riley before letting his head drop into his hands, braids tumbling over his face. "I am Jack Sparrow, Captain of the Black Pearl. I've been martyred, mutinied, marooned, and almost murdered. My ship is lost, my treasure lost, even my very own existence lost, all because you, my Kitten, have brought me to this god-forsaken place claimed to be known as 'the future', and I don't even deserve the small kindness of a decent night's sleep!?"

Riley spared no sympathy. "Don't say that like it's my fault! I was the one trying to help you get to sleep!"

…

"The Captain didn't get a good night's sleep, did he?" Kat mused evilly. Riley's face turned first white, then bright red in the space of a second. "Well, good thing your dearest Kitten was there, eh, Cap'n?"

The pillow from the couch almost materialized into Riley's hands as she flung it at Kat's head. With the ease of experience, she leaned over just enough to let the projectile fly past her ear into the wall. "Unless, of course, she was the reason you couldn't sleep?"

"That's it! Now you die!" Suddenly, the living room was alive with shouts, screams, giggles and two best friends, leaping over chairs, tables, plants and pirate captains in an effort for one to run from the other. Will and Jack, sensing that any offer of participation would be fatal, meekly sat on the couch and watched the girls' scuffle. Eventually, they ditched running in favor of hand-to-hand combat via pillow and magazine. When the pillow was torn away and the magazine pages littered the floor, wrestling became the next round. Both girls were oblivious to the sudden interest Jack had in watching two barely-clothed girls wrestling on the floor. But Will had, and adequately took care of it with a soft warning and a subtle shift of his sword. In return, Jack took a sudden interest in his fingernails.

"Okay! Okay! Uncle! Uncle!" Kat wheezed as she laughed, pinned underneath Riley's fuming glare. "You win. Sheesh, I was only teasing."

Riley harrumphed grumpily. "See if you still feel that way next time I poke you about Will!"

Kat rolled her eyes. "That's not quite the same thing."

"Isn't it?"

Kat shot Riley a look she didn't want to interpret. Instead, she made herself busy standing up and dusting herself off, studiously ignoring her friend. Kat grinned triumphantly. You can't tease me about Will the same way I tease you about Jack because, unlike you and Jack, Will and I have already admitted our feelings to each other. But rather than commit suicide to tell her as much, Kat stood and stretched her arms over her head.

"Don't forget the rules. I won this time," Riley pointed out sourly.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Kat replied, arching her back.

"Rules?" Will questioned curiously.

Kat and Riley turned to stare at the guys on the couch. Sadly enough, despite the fact that they were part of the focus of the argument, both girls had almost completely forgotten they were still there. Riley frowned suspiciously at Jack staring at something on his hands, but Kat simply smiled and explained. "Oh, it's really just this one rule we made up back in, like, junior high. Every time we got into pointless little squabble- like the one we just had- the loser had to treat the winner to ice cream down at Snow Joe's. It's sort of a silly little tradition that we've had going for years, but it does keep our fights from growing into anything serious."

Will smiled, nodding to show his vague understanding despite the unfamiliar details. "Your tradition must have served you both well, seeing how you've remained close friends for so many years."

Riley muttered something under her breath to which Kat elbowed her in the stomach. "Yeah, you could say that."

Jack didn't seem to agree. He had been on the wrong end of her fist enough times to shiver. "Luv, if that be how you treat your friends, I'd hate to be an enemy."

Will shot him a slanted look. "The longer you keep your attention on your fingernails, the longer you'll go without being one."

Jack's face turned into the equivalent of a pirate pout while the girls stared at him, nonplussed. Kat glanced at Will's displeased frown and sighed. "You're not going to tell me what that was about, are you?"

"It'd be best, mostly for Jack's safety, that I did not," was Will's only reply.

Riley pinned a dirty look at Jack while Kat rolled her eyes. As predicted earlier, Jack tried to study his reflection through his mud-caked fingernails.

"Oh-kay!" Kat suddenly exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "Now sounds like an absolutely excellent time to start getting ready for the beach."

Both men looked at her strangely. "The beach?"

Jack frowned. "Luv, we be pirates. We spend all day at sea. Mind tellin' me why we should be excited about a beach?"

Kat grinned. "Because that's where we're going to find some of the best ice cream and surfing in West Beach County." She hadn't intended on making a big deal out of going to the beach. Jack was right- when you spend so much time on a ship, particularly the Black Pearl, a regular beach wasn't all that impressive. But the more she thought about a Snow Joe's sundae and her surf board sitting up against the wall in her room, the more excited she felt herself getting. A glance at Riley told her that her best friend was no less anxious to get out than she was.

"Besides," she added, "Riley and I have been in you guy's time for months. It feels good to be home, enjoying things we couldn't do back then." Beside her, Riley nodded her agreement.

Jack and Will exchanged glances and Kat could detect the barest hint of guilt passed between them. "We didn't mean to take you from your lives," Will said for the both of them. "We understand if you wish to stay here where you belong."

Riley rolled her eyes, lightening the suddenly tense atmosphere. "Please. You guys can't get rid of us that easy. Kat would do nothing but go all gushy on me in you even thought about leaving her behind."

Kat thought about snatching the pillow at her feet and resuming their battle, but instantly tossed the idea aside. Besides, it's not exactly as if Riley was wrong, either. Instead, she changed the subject. "And what makes you guys think you're not coming with us?"

"Yeah," Riley agreed, pointing an accusing finger at Jack. "I don't have an issue with Will, but I'll be damned if I'll leave you alone in my apartment with all my clothes and stuff unguarded!"

Jack's fingernails were certainly getting a lot of attention this morning.

"Oh shit."

Riley turned to Kat, stunned. She was normally the one with the potty mouth, not Kat. It either took a hell of a temper tantrum or Jack the Ripper knocking on their door to get expletives to come out of her. Riley had good reason to be nervous when asking, "What is it?"

Kat looked almost sick. "We can't just walk down the street with our surf boards and a couple of movie stars in tow."

Riley frowned. Was this all she was worried about? "So? We'll take the car."

"The car's in the garage. I've been kind of distracted lately, in case you haven't noticed, so I haven't had time to fix that oil leak."

Kat came from a long line of beauty pageant runner ups and mechanics. Her mother was the only one in her family to actually win a pageant but that never stopped her three sisters from trying. Years after her mother's death, Kat's sisters went into various fields of fashion, beauty and glamorousness while she toiled away at college, working part-time at a diner and giving the odd oil change to her neighbors for fifteen bucks. Her dad couldn't be prouder.

"So what's the problem? We can always just borrow…" Riley's voice faded into shocked silence. She came to the same conclusion Kat had. "Oh shit."

"No kidding."

"Is there a problem?" Will asked, only somewhat worried. He didn't understand much about surf boards, movie stars or oil leaks, but he was getting concerned about the way Kat's face had paled.

Kat and Riley looked at each other and gulped. They knew the only car available for borrowing was sitting in the driveway of a small condo about a block away. It just so happened to belong to Kat's cousin, Eddie, the rather eccentric fashion consultant and keyboard artist for their band, the Hot Streaks. The same cousin that had witnessed Jack and Will entering their apartment last night.

Oh shit was right.

Without speaking a work, Kat and Riley both stuck out their fists and began shaking them up and down. The pirates watched in fascination as Kat groaned dismally. Her hand was still a fist while Riley's was laid out flat. The men deduced that they had just witnessed some complex futuristic ritual and that Riley had somehow emerged victorious.

Kat turned to walk into the kitchen and grab a cordless phone and began punching numbers, trying to ignore the feeling of dread creeping up on her. She didn't doubt that it'd take nothing short of acute amnesia to get Eddie to forget about last night or to prevent her flood of questions, but she really wanted to go to the beach. It practically felt like ages since she had been on a surf board.

While she listened to the dial tone, she glanced at Riley. "While I'm talking to Eddie, you can find the guys something to wear. Eddie always leaving her trunks of clothing in the living room closet, so check there."

Riley nodded and directed the guys toward Kat's bedroom. Not only was the closet closer, but she wasn't lying about not trusting Jack in her own room. She located one of Kat's cousin's trunks and dragged it out to pilfer through the clothing.

Will glanced down at his clothing a little self-consciously. "Is there something wrong with our attire?"

Riley sat back on her heels and gave him a long stare, debating how to answer. "Remember that one time when me and Kat were gone for a few months and you found us back on the Pearl in our pajamas?"

Jack couldn't help the smile that stole over him and certainly did little to hide it. "Aye, I remember that day well, Kitten."

Riley tactfully ignored him. "Yeah, well, imagine the two of us trying to stroll around the streets of Port Royal looking like that."

Will looked thoughtful. "I think I understand," he said slowly. "You are saying that we would… attract attention?"

"More than you'll want, trust me. Here, try these on." She handed him a plain white T-shirt and a pair of Levi's with a few grass stains on the knees. "Go in Kat's room, and if you value your life, you won't touch anything."

Will took the clothes with gratitude and muttered something about his pride and a screeching vermin before the door shut behind him. Riley shook her head and chuckled before she resumed her search.

Jack stood leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, studying the woman before him silently. Riley didn't doubt that his eyes were straying to where they shouldn't, but wasn't in much of a position to do more than glare. Not that that ever did anything. She had a pair of dark jeans set aside and had just pulled out a black cotton tank that looked like it would fit him, if only a tad snuggly. She closed the trunk, shoved it back in the closet, and shoved them into Sparrow's chest.

"Here. You can put those on in the bathroom down the hall. I'm going to go make sure Kat's ear still works."

But when she tried to pull away, she was startled to discover she couldn't. Without noticing, Jack had slipped his hands around the bundle of clothes and locked around her wrists, still pushed against him. She turned her face toward him, fully intending on demanding he release her, when she noticed his soft, somewhat pensive expression staring down at her. She swallowed hard. The last time he had that expression on his face, they were beneath a large oak in some harbor town in Spain, and she suddenly recalled that they had just about as much distance between them then as they did now. Her angry words died in her throat around the same place where her heart now took residence, pounding like a jack hammer and making breathing suddenly difficult.

"Kitten?" His voice was a soft purr and his eyes had melted into rich dark chocolate.

Riley swallowed again. "Yeah?"

Jack released one of her wrists to stroke long, ring-adorned fingers through her hair, staring at the silky strands between his thumb and finger. Even though she now had a hand free to push him away or slap his face, she couldn't quite muster the strength to do either.

"About earlier," he began, and his voice almost seemed to falter. He quickly regained his composure and dropped her hair, electing instead to place his hand against her arm. His coarse, dirtied fingers felt soft skin, and decided it was a good move. Riley fought back goose bumps. "You had said before that we couldn't get rid of you. That Miss Katherine wouldn't be happy to be parted from her beloved William."

Jack paused, and Riley took a long time trying to remember how to talk without stammering. "Yeah, I guess I said that."

Their gazes locked and Riley almost forgot to breathe. "What about you, Kitten? Would you not also despair? Would you be willing to part with… with someone you cared for?"

Hell no, her mind protested violently. "Depends. Who exactly did you have in mind?"

Jack smiled, his teeth brilliantly white behind his dark goatee and tanned skin. Riley was reminded of that big shark with the Australian accent in the beginning of Finding Nemo.

Suddenly, Jack became distracted. The doorknob was turning and Kat's bedroom door was opening. While she still had the chance, Riley sprang away just as Will emerged looking almost like a twenty-first century poor college student. The earrings and long hair were still a little on the exotic side, but she suspected Kat would sooner wear a pink dress with frilly sleeves than let anyone do anything about it.

He straightened one of hundreds of wrinkles in his shirt before looking up. "Well?"

"Um, you look good," Riley replied quickly, keeping her eyes off of Sparrow. God help her if she had to look back at him again. She wasn't too sure she wouldn't melt into a sloppy, messy puddle right on the spot. She gave Will a stiff, affirming nod before spinning around and dashing into her room, shutting the door with a loud slam.

Will stared a long time at the shut door before turning slowly to Jack with a disgusted look. Jack ignored Will in favor of readjusting the bundle in his arms and trooping forward into the bathroom.

With no one else to question, Will sighed and decided to go join Katherine. He wasn't quite sure who Eddie was or why they needed a 'car', but judging by the way she and Riley treated them both, it was going to be a strenuous ordeal. At the moment, he favored supporting Kat over trying to sort out Jack and Riley's current issue.

Later that afternoon, Kat backed up in front of a meter right alongside the sand. She turned to ask Riley for quarters but got nothing but a death glare in return. Kat sighed and pushing her finger through the pennies and nickels in the cup holders. In the back, Will and Jack were silently strapped in, both terrified of the monstrous machine that had moved without the assistance of a horse and the furious girl sitting in the passenger seat.

It had taken the better part of an hour to get Eddie to lend them her minivan without disclosing any information about their late night guests, but the negotiations had taken their toll and Riley wasn't too happy about the price. As soon as Kat confessed what the penalty would be, Riley nearly screamed the other three deaf with her profanity, followed by a heavy silence that no one was willing to disturb.

As soon as Kat found enough to avoid a ticket, she suddenly clapped her hands together, making Will and Jack jump in fright. "Alright, we're at the beach! Everybody out!" She sounded like a soccer mom, and after a short instruction as to how the door handles worked, Will and Jack filed out.

Jack, spying the sand under his sandaled feet, sighed. "I still don't understand the fascination with this beach. We've sailed all over the Caribbean and you expect me to be impressed with ocean water and sand? Lass, I be Cap'n Jack Sparrow, and there's nothing here that could possibly-"

Kat and Will had gotten out on the same side of the van and exchanged worried glances when Jack had fallen silent. As one, they dashed around the back of the van, each with their own fears. Will was wondering whether there were swords and muskets in this bizarre time while Kat was scared some fan girl had recognized him. The both skid to a stop right in front of Jack's back, looking over his shoulder to figure out what had him stunned silent.

What Kat saw made her want to bang her head against the van. This was a beach smack dab in the middle of the California Coast. It was about 85 degrees out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The beach was packed. Towels covered every square inch of sand from here to the shoreline and umbrellas poked out of the ground like daises. There were coolers, sandals and bright plastic buckets everywhere. And people. Lots of people.

Female type people. With Hollywood smiles and boob jobs. In bikinis.

Will felt his face flush. "You brought us to an outdoor brothel?"

"Practically," she muttered below her breath.

Suddenly, the passenger door swung open and Riley hopped out, eyes blazing. Jack felt his neck hairs rose and turned to flash her his best smile. "Kitten!"

She gave him a look that would have curled the toes of a dead man and spun around to retrieve her dark blue long board on the roof of the van. She was already garbed in her swim wear: a pair of black knee-length swim trunks and a navy tank-ini. Though the suit was modest, she couldn't hide her athletic figure or her Caribbean-acquired tan. Several guys from the beach glanced up curiously. Jack fixed his eyes on them and wished he had been allowed to bring his sword.

"You."

Jack squeaked as he spun around to face Riley once more, no less angry than she had been when they had left the apartment. "I'm going to surf. I'm going to pretend like this morning did not happen. If I come back and anything you do or say reminds me of the morning that did not happen, I will turn you into my enemy. You'll recall that you didn't want to be my enemy. I don't suggest you start now. Do you understand?"

Jack tried to look nonchalant as he smiled and nodded, but his grin was more of a twitchy wince and his nod was jerky. Accepting it, she cast one last glare at Kat before jogging toward the towel and umbrella jungle, her board under her arm.

Kat sighed and turned to tug at her own board. Will retrieved it for her and held it under his arm like Riley while she moved toward the trunk to unload the rest of their things. "I don't suppose you would like to explain why Miss Riley is so… displeased with this morning's events?"

Kat motioned for Jack to come closer and began filling his arms with food and sunscreen. "Riley's not too happy with how I managed to acquire the van."

"I surmised as much."

Kat had to dig through musical equipment and boxes of clothes hangers to find the towels. "See, Eddie's kind of our costume designer for the few shows that our band does. She can make us look really good when she wants to, but most of the time, it takes a bottle of aspirin to keep her from making us look ridiculous. She thinks she has what it takes to be a high-fashion designer."

"Riley disagrees?"

Kat snorted. "Not just her. The whole high-fashion world disagrees. Even a circus rejected her clothes."

Will had to assume this was something pretty bad. "And in return for this… um, car… you had to… change your opinion?"

Kat nodded wearily, grabbing the last of the items and pulling the trunk door closed. "For a gig we have at someone's birthday. She says we're going to be the talk of the town strutting around in Edwina Richard originals. Frankly, my biggest fear is that she'll be right."

"Was this… Eddie… responsible for what she's wearing now?" Jack wanted to know. His eyes were on the beach. Riley had made it through the crowd and was making her way toward the water. Jack wasn't the only one watching, and it was making the pirate captain irritated, to say the least.

Kat rolled her eyes. "No. That's a bathing suit, Jack. People swim in them. And, in case you hadn't noticed, it's certainly a long better than what most women wear to the beach. But I wouldn't suggest trying to check, either," she added before Jack had the chance. "You do, and I'll tell Riley."

A fate worse than death, they all agreed. Jack sighed miserably and trudged after Kat, leading them all closer to the pier. Under the shadow of the large construction, the temperature was much colder, and fewer blankets were stretched out. Kat figured the fewer people, the better as far as Jack and Will were concerned.

Will helped Kat set things out with only minor instruction (he kept looking at the way other people set their towels out so he wouldn't have to shatter his pride to ask) and Jack sat on the damp sand against a pier support, tugging at his confining jeans irritably. When they had finished, Kat popped open a soda can and gave the men a brief explanation of it and the other contents of the cooler.

"You guys can keep out of trouble here for a little while, can't you?"

Will smiled, relaxing against the bright red blanket spread over the sand. "I can manage Jack while you join Riley, if that is what you mean."

Kat grinned and leaned forward to peck him on the cheek. "You rock."

Then, without warning, her hands went to her shirt hem and she started pulling it over her head.

Will's eyes were huge and his face roughly the shade of the blanket. "K-k-at-t!" he stammered. "W-what are y-you d-do-"

"Relax, Will, it's just a bathing suit," she explained calmly. The shirt was off and tossed aside, revealing a red bikini top with white Hawaiian flowers printed on it. The material was thick and covered her well, but to a man used to seventeenth century modesty and discretion, she may as well have been naked.

He was just about to spew in a Jack-influenced jealous tantrum when she slipped her pants off. Again, compared to the G-strings and thongs other women sported proudly, Kat's boy-short style bottoms weren't exactly risqué. But the last few months upon the Pearl had put muscle and tone into a body that previously had none, and Will was suddenly seeing a lot more skin than he had ever anticipated seeing before he was married.

She scooped up her dark red board and glanced back at the ocean, spotting Riley slicing through a wave not far away. She was completely oblivious to Will's flabbergasted shock. "We won't be very long, I promise. Just give us enough time to have a little fun, then we'll head on to Snow Joe's." Flashing another smile back at Will, she jogged out until the water lapped at her ankles, leaped out onto her board, and paddled toward Riley.

For the next few moments, activity at the bright red blanket had ceased. Will's mouth was still open and his eyes had to be aching from staying so wide for so long. He couldn't quite get the image of Kat strolling along happily wearing less clothes than a prostitute out of his head.

There was movement at his side and Jack was suddenly sitting next to him. "It's not as easy as you thought, is it, mate? Watchin' your lass flutter off like that when there're men out there watchin' and dreamin'?"

Will's low snarl surprised even himself. "Being as accustomed to it as you are, I do hope you weren't one of those 'watching my lass'."

Jack snorted. "What, me? I'd as soon appreciate you watchin' me Kitten." Which meant, of course, that he did have more of an eyeful than either Will or Riley would have liked. "But this jealousy thing..." Jack sighed, swiping a hand over his face wearily. "I'm not used to being on this end of it."

Will nodded his agreement. "It's not a pleasant feeling, is it?"

Jack shot Will a curious glance. "Familiar, is it? With Elizabeth, I wager?"

Will's face turned surprised. "Actually, no, not really."

"Surely Commodore Norrington…"

Will shrugged. "Back then, I dreamed and fantasized, but I never imagined Elizabeth would share my feelings. I knew the Commodore, what with his wealth, position, and how he adored her, would make her happy. Even after Isle de Muerta and Barbosa, I was happy with her and oblivious to everything else."

Jack picked stones and shell fragments from the sand, choosing his next words carefully. "Sounds to me like you were oblivious to more than fair Miss Swan cared for."

Will sighed. "What can I say that I haven't already? She wanted a home, a family, and a settled life. She was the governor's daughter, and she grew up expecting this life. And as much as I want that, I just… wasn't ready for it. I wasn't a governor's son… I was a pirate's son. And that spoke leagues of how we wanted our lives to lead."

"Hers to land and yours to sea."

"Yes."

There was a moment of silence between them while Will thought over his decisions and Jack thought of how to progress the conversation without earning a sword to his gut.

He finally decided on a bright smile and a carefree tone. "Ah, but the sea had treasures of its own, aye? Why, if it weren't for me and me ole matey, the sea, we wouldn't have brought the lovely Miss Katherine to your door, done up finely in lace and silks."

Jack watched Will's somber face turn soft. "Yes, I suppose so," he said wistfully, eyes turning toward the ocean. It wasn't hard to pick out Kat. Thought wet and plastered to her back, her bright red hair stood out over the blue-green water. Standing atop her board, she looked like she was dancing on water. Her face was bright with exhilaration as she jerked her board up and down the wave, spray brushing her face. Will was no judge on surfing ability, but he didn't doubt she and Riley were both very talented. He smiled when she finally collapsed into the wave, laughing joyously at her triumph.

"Bonny Miss Kat didn't leave you for a colonial palace," Jack pointed out. "She went after you, adventure or no."

"She's unlike anyone I've ever met," Will admitted quietly. "I know in my heart that I'm not likely to ever come across her twin. Future or not, I know that I love her."

Jack winced at the word. The conversation had suddenly turned a direction he didn't intend on. Almost compulsively, his eyes sought out Riley.

Will didn't miss Jack's uncomfortable tension and turned to his old friend curiously. "I must admit, Jack, that a man of your reputation didn't strike me as someone who'd go after one woman for so long. I mean, I know you enjoy your challenges, but even you would move on to an easier target after a while."

Jack's eyes were burning as they cut across to Will. "Be lucky me sword isn't in my hand, matey. I'd as soon slay a lesser man for daring to speak to me like that."

Will held his stare. "So, Riley's not just a challenge?"

"Of course not! I'd never do that to Kitten! What do you take me for?"

"A womanizing pirate."

Jack growled low in his throat, but otherwise said nothing. He didn't quite understand why the admission should bother him like it did- he knew it every bit as much as Will did. In fact, there was a time when such a comment would be thought of as a compliment. Will echoed his own thought.

"Why the defensiveness, Jack Sparrow? Does Riley really mean that much to you?"

Jack looked away, not appreciating the way something inside his chest was twisting painfully. He blamed Will for it, of course, but laying the blame didn't make dealing with it any easier. But flat out dealing with it wasn't exactly an option, either.

Will frowned. "I know I love Kat, and I know she loves me. And this time, I don't have a fear that she will follow me and I her. But you… you can't make up your mind. You can't comprehend making such a sacrifice for someone else, and because of it, Riley is going to be hurt. Just like Elizabeth hurt me."

Jack winced again, but Will pushed on. "You can't simply pretend to care, then when she actually trusts you, decide that you don't want to give up your life for her."

When he finally spoke, Jack sounded far more relaxed than he felt. "Sounds an awful lot like you're describing yourself more than me or Elizabeth."

Will eyes narrowed dangerously. "I would have sacrificed if she would have. I would have stayed with her. I would have married her and we would have lived happily."

"Saying you would do something ain't the same as doin' it, mate."

Will voice nearly broke as he hissed, "What hurt was knowing that she wouldn't have made the same choice. If I had to choose between a life as a pirate and her, I would have chosen her if she would have given me chance to choose it. But she didn't. She didn't think I'd commit myself to her, so she gave me an ultimatum. She saw the life she had led and a possible life with me at sea, and made her decision." For a moment, he sighed, and his expression was tortured. "I was willing to sacrifice for her, but she wasn't willing to sacrifice for me."

Jack felt that unfamiliar twinge in his chest again and found himself sorry he ever brought it up. This was a new side to the story that he never really knew before. He almost felt bad for having wrenched it from Will. He turned back toward the ocean and continued watching Riley.

It took a while for Will to recollect himself, but when he didn't, almost all traces of his anguish were wiped away. "It's not the same with Kat. I know she'll sacrifice every bit as much as I would, and there's a comfort in that that you can't find in a brothel, Jack. Both you and Riley are important to me, and I would rather see myself hanged than to see either of you hurt. But the way you're going, pain is going to be inevitable."

Jack's gaze, though locked on Riley, grew hard. "Aye, so it's me, the god-awful pirate, at fault yet again, is it? It's all my fault. No one else to blame."

"Now you're just feeling sorry for yourself."

"Doesn't really matter, does it? You and Katherine are in love. Riley and I… are not." He tried to ignore the more violent hole that ripped in his chest when he said that, but it wasn't that easy. As great a master of delusion as he was, not even he could mask the pain it caused him.

Will sighed, and in a very Kat-like move, gently fwapped Jack on the back of the head. Jack spun around to fix an incredulous look at Will, but his friend only shook his head and smiled. "Jack, you are far more brilliant than many give you credit for, I'll admit, but you are the world's greatest fool if you think Riley does not love you."

Jack had to blink a few times to process that one. Riley loved him?

Of course she does, you bloody blaggart, he scolded himself. You're the great Jack Sparrow. You can make any woman fall for you. Bloody hell, that's only what you've been trying to do to Kitten for these last few months!

And yet, still, Will's announcement had nervous tingles running up and down his spine.

Or maybe it was the shadow looming over his shoulder.

"What are you two talking about?"

It took all the strength Jack Sparrow possessed to not squeak a second time as he, slowly and semi-camly, turned to find Riley standing dripping wet behind him, eyes narrowed suspiciously. He scrunched his brows, pretending to be deep in thought, when really there were only two options before him. Either lie about it or feign innocence.

Telling the truth was obviously not part of his unique mindset.

Plastering a broad smile on his face, he exclaimed, "Why, Kitten? Don't you look ravishing? All… wet… and in that… bathing… um…"

Changing the topic to her lack of clothes really was far better as an idea than it was in action.

Riley rolled her eyes and glanced back at Kat as the red-head finally joined them. "Men."

Kat nodded her agreement while stifling her giggles. While Will was far more subtle about the girls' appearances, he still had to force himself to look away, spots of rouge tinting his cheeks. She nudged Riley's side. "Come on, Ri. We had better get some clothes on. Wouldn't want to spoil our gentlemen's high opinions of us."

"Speak for yourself," Riley replied, but there was genuine amusement in her eyes to replace the anger that was there earlier. Surfing always left her a lot more mellow than she was when she starts.

Will reached out to grab Jack's head and force it to face the other direction while the girl's dried off. Since Riley had no other clothes to dress in, she simply draped her towel over her shoulders. Kat simply slipped into her jeans and folded her shirt into her bag, not wanting to get more things wet than she had to.

"Come on, you guys," she said. "We can pack our stuff back in the van and walk down to Snow Joe's for Riley's ice cream."

A rather rare moment of insight must have stole upon Jack, because as the men helped the women gather the things, he stayed silent and thoughtful. No doubt he was still thinking about what Will had told him, judging by the way he kept sneaking glances at Riley when he knew she wasn't looking, but neither girl had any way of knowing what to make of his uncharacteristic mildness other than to enjoy it while it lasted.

As they approached the van, it became clear that even more people had arrived, crowding their towels close to the parking lot. A group of teenagers had gathered around the volleyball nets, probably discussing teams and strategy. Seated in between them was a mountain of bags, folded chairs, clothes and a boom box playing a local radio station. Didn't look like anyone wanted to waste time with such trivialities as actually setting their stuff out. A few girls lay stretched out on towels, ignoring the games in favor of getting tans. Some of them perked up as Jack and Will walked by, but as Kat followed behind, she picked up a small sand crab scuttling by her feet and tossed it in their direction. Chaos and mayhem followed, but for some reason, she couldn't quite muster up any sympathy for their suffering. Riley slapped her a high five with a wide grin.

Kat moved to the van and opened the trunk door. She took one look at the mess and sighed. "I really don't want to leave the boards up on the top while we go out for ice cream, but I don't know if they'll fit in there."

Riley set her handful down and peered in. "Sure they will. We just have to reorganize a bit."

Kat grinned. "You? Organize? Did you fall one too many times out there or did I?"

Riley punched her in the arm. "Just shut up and grab the guitars."

Kat chuckled but did as she was told, grabbing their instruments and carefully leaning them up against the pile of towels on the ground. Riley came out with the amplifier carefully balanced in her arms. She looked over the top and glared at the guys. "So glad to know that chivalry dies out sometime around the seventeenth century."

Will and Jack adding their armfuls to the pile and moved to help her out. "Where did you need this?" Will asked.

"You can put it down next to the guitars. Carefully," she added sternly. "Eddie won't be the only one after your necks if there's so much as a scratch on that thing."

The men nodded in understanding and, between them, managed to set the bizarre plastic box that was obviously valuable on spread towel. Then, both stepped away. Neither wanted to be responsible for any damage if it meant the wrath of not one or two but three raging girls on them.

Kat crawled out of the trunk while Riley came forward with a board under each arm. She smiled at the guys. "You know, this was a lot of fun. It's been ages since we've surfed, but it's a great way to relieve a lot stress."

"You both were incredible," Will complimented. "I never knew of such a technique to… to stand on the water the way you did."

Kat beamed under the praise. "Riley and I have practically been surfing forever, since…" She actually had to pause in consideration. "Since… hey, Riley," she called out, glancing over her shoulder, "how long have we been surfing?"

"Surfing?" She came out and sat on the edge of the trunk, thinking. "Let's see… I got my first board for… my eighth birthday, didn't I? Or maybe it was my ninth."

Close to the volleyball nets, someone turned up the volume and Kat jumped up, shrieking. "Riley!"

Riley rolled her eyes. Will looked at her, curious. "It's this song," Riley explained. "Kat loves this song."

To Will's absolute amazement, Kat started bobbing her head and strutting around in time to a loud, rather startling form of music of which he had never heard the likes of before. He assumed it must have been a future thing, but was no longer able to dwell on it as Kat began to sing.

"You've got your mother and your brother

every other under cover tellin' you what to say."

"What to say," Riley echoed, grinning alongside Kat as she reached for her guitar.

Now, Kat was holding up an imaginary microphone as she sang. Though Riley and Eddie did most of the singing for their performances, Kat still could and did often sing, and despite the unfamiliarity of the tune, Will could still appreciate the quality of her voice.

"You think I'm stupid but the truth is that it's Cupid baby

Lovin' you has made me this way."

"So before you point the finger

Get your hands off of my trigger, oh yeah,

You need to know the situation's getting old

And now the more you talk the less I can take, oh,"

Suddenly, the air blasted with the sound of Riley's guitar joined to the amp as she strung along the music, raising her own voice to join Kat's. People from the beach, attracted by the music, began to draw closer.

Kat laughed, delighted at their audience, and continued parading around with her imaginary microphone.

"I'm looking for attention,

Not another question,

Should you stay or should you go.

Well if you don't have the answer,

Why you still standing here?

Hey, hey, hey, he-ey,

Just walk away."

Riley repeated "Just walk awa-ay," while Kat moved to hook up her own instrument. As people began to crowd and cheer after them, Riley stepped up for her own line, banging her head wildly.

"I waited here for you like a kid waitin' afterschool

So tell me how come you never showed?"

"Never showed," was Kat's line.

"I gave you everything and never asked for anything and

Look at me, I'm all alone.

So before you start defending baby

Stop all your pretending, oh,

I know you know I know so

What's the point in being slow let's

Get this show on the road today, hey!"

Kat finally managed to hook her guitar in, and together, the girls blasted their music and raised their voices.

"I'm looking for attention,

Not another question,

Should you stay or should you go.

Well if you don't have the answer,

Why you still standing here?

Hey, hey, hey, he-ey,

Just walk away."

While Riley repeated the echoes, Kat tucked her guitar under her arm and climbed to the roof of the van. This was her favorite part of the song and Riley knew it. Riley glanced behind her and happened to spot something that made her smile- a portable microphone. She reached for it and tossed it Kat's way, calling out, "Rock it out, Thompson!"

Kat caught the microphone and belted it out.

"I want a love, I want a fire,

To feel the burn of my desire,

I want a man by my side,

Not a boy who run's and hides!"

Her face was jubilant with the passion of her words, and the crowd was feeding off her energy. There were at least of hundred of them swarmed around the van, all cheering and shouting.

"Are you gonna fight for me? Die for me?

Live and breathe for me?

Do you care for me?

Cuz if you don't then just leave!"

Riley rose her voice to sing the chorus again while Kat sang extras. Half the crowd was singing along with them while the rest were just screaming excitedly. No one had spoke of a concert taking place in the West Beach Pier parking lot, but with the amount of people surging toward the van and enjoying the sight and sound of two half-clothed girls rocking out to Kelly Clarkson, one would have thought they were paying admission.

As the radio music began to fade and the original beat returned, Riley and Kat swayed back and forth, playing their music steadily until the last note where, naturally, they had to pose dramatically. The roar of the crowd was almost deafening. Kat and Riley exchanged glances and all but fell over laughing. This had to have been their biggest performance to date, and it was all because Kat started singing to a song on the radio.

It took a good thirty minutes after the song ended before the crowds dispersed enough for Kat to climb off the van and plop herself down on the curb. "Wow. I can't believe that just happened."

"No kidding," Riley agreed, seating herself down next to her. "I just autographed a bald guy's head."

Kat buckled over in laughter. Riley maintained a little bit more discretion, but she was still chuckling merrily alongside her. "If they enjoyed that, think of how much we could make off of recording you when you sing in the shower!" she added.

"What about when you're listening to your headphones between classes?" Kat shot back with a grin. "You're always humming and singing in the hallways."

"Or what about at the diner?" Riley suggested. "We could charge people to pick a song from the jukebox and we'd sing along with it."

"And what would we charge? A quarter? The jukebox would be making more money than us."

"The jukebox already makes more money than us."

Both girls dissolved into giggles. While the ideas they put forth were ridiculous, they made the girls feel lighter than they had for ages.

Suddenly, Kat looked around. "Hey, where'd Jack and Will go?"

"Right here." The driver's and passenger's door opened and both men hopped out. Kat hopped to her feet and raced to Will's side, giddy with the excitement of the impromptu concert as she tugged him down to press a light kiss on his lips. At first startled by the spontaneous action (and the fact that she still didn't have a shirt on), he couldn't help but smile at her infectious joy. "That was quite a performance you two put on."

Kat shrugged, but moved to loop her arm through Will's. "Sort of silly, really, but it was a lot of fun. And it suddenly put me in the mood for ice cream."

"Ah, I see," Will replied, grinning. He let her lead him toward the boardwalk. "You know, you never really explained what this… 'ice cream' was."

Kat patted his shoulder reassuringly. "You're lucky you happen to be with West Beach's very own ice cream expert."

"Really?" Will said in mock awe.

Riley rolled her eyes as she rose to her feet and moved to join them.

"Kitten, wait."

She paused, looking over her shoulder. She had almost forgotten about Jack. He had been unusually quiet, and only now that he had caught her attention did she notice that there was a peculiar expression on his face. One she hadn't seen before. It was sort of a frown, but there was an unreadable look in his eyes that made her stop to face him.

"Sparrow, what's wrong?"

Jack didn't reply, preferring to stare at her openly concerned face, studying her quietly.

Though he couldn't quite admit that he had enjoyed the girls' concert, the lyrics they sang rang a little too close toward Will's earlier conversation for comfort. He thought about how Will explained his ordeal with Elizabeth, and the unfortunately accurate connections he had made between them. His frown deepened, and without even realizing what he was doing, his hand reached out to touch her face, tracing gentle fingers along her temple to her jaw.

Riley's eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. She didn't know what she did (or what he did) that brought on this unusual display of affection, nor the almost torn expression that was caught in his eyes, but for the second time that day, she found herself trapped without so much as an ounce of pressure physically binding her in place. His light fingers tenderly tracing her face might as well have been shackles for all the good her feet were doing.

She was so caught up in trying to figure out what was causing Jack to behave so unusually (thought, if she were honest, not at all unpleasantly) that his next words caught her off guard.

"I would miss you, Kitten."

Riley had to blink to reel herself in. Did that come out of the blue, or did she completely blank out and miss something really important?

"Huh?"

"I would miss you," he repeated firmly, eyes boring into her. "If something happened, and Will and I had to leave you here, in the future, where you belong… I would miss you."

Riley's heart went from pounding against her ribcage one second to all but stopping the next. Her mind was all too willing to replay the tense moments they shared in front of the bathroom right before Will interrupted them. But as she was watching the scene, she couldn't help but notice one big difference between then and now, namely Jack. Before, though he genuinely seemed concerned about her answer to his question, he instantly tried to play it off as a less than serious matter when he flashed her his hundred-watt smile and started his ever-familiar flirting. But this time…

This time he felt so much more… vulnerable than before.

Almost unconsciously, her hand reached up to wrap around the one at her face, and offered him the best semi-trembling smile she could.

"I'd miss you, too."

Jack couldn't hide his relief fast enough. He released his breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding in a big whoosh of air, and his hand dropped from Riley's face. Though he didn't exactly want her to be aware of how… euphoric her answer had made him, he couldn't give her anything but a genuine smile of happiness that turned her knees into jello. Suddenly, his arm was around her shoulders and he was steering her toward the direction where Kat and Will had disappeared.

"Well, of course you'd miss me, luv. I'm Captain Jack Sparrow. There isn't a lady in the Caribbean that wouldn't miss my company."

Riley knew in all reality that she should have been mad at that comment, but she couldn't pin a finger on any real anger. What just happened she couldn't be sure she didn't dream up, but she was willing to bet that that unfamiliar expression she caught earlier was the face of the true, raw Jack Sparrow. The one who got jealous at the beach when the guys stared at her. The one that stood shell-shocked when she opened up her mouth to sing. The one that just sort of admitted that he didn't want to let her go. The one that she suspected she was falling in love with.

But Jack obviously made a show of covering up his tracts, so Riley graciously made no further moves to uncover them. Instead, her lips quirked up in a sly smile. "But we're no longer in the Caribbean, Sparrow."

All at once, his face became so honestly startled that she had to laugh. He looked around himself as if seeing it for the first time.

Shaking her head, Riley clapped an arm over his shoulder and they walked forward like brothers in arms. "Come on, Sparrow. When you're in the Pearl, the Caribbean is your domain. Your territory. But now, we're in down town West Beach in Southern California. You've just stepped foot into my territory, so now I get to assume the role of teaching you the ropes."

Jack turned a surprised face down to Riley, only to relax into his trademark carefree grin. "Aye, so that be so, eh? Well, then, Cap'n Kitten, what have you to teach me?"

Riley grinned as she pushed him across the street to Snow Joe's. She could see Kat and Will already walking out with sundaes in hand. Will was staring at his cup like he had just discovered a gold mine. "It's pretty basic, really. You just have to remember three things. Don't follow signs with arrows. Don't go anywhere without quarters. And never forget that Kat really is the expert on all things ice cream."

- -

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