Ok, I realize that I am the most horrible author ever. T.T I didn't mean to stop writing completely. My senior year of high school last year kept me busy and my first semester of college was insane, but I should have a lot more free time this semester so I'm going to start writing again! Also, having seen the trailer for On Stranger Tides I realized that I need to keep writing. I miss it too much. :)

Also, I changed the rating to M instead of T. I decided that at some point there will probably be some "mature" content. Like, maybe there's a teensy bit in this chapter. ;) Enjoy.

Chapter 3: Some Evening Steam

The following day, Scott and Kairi were hard at work. Jack was standing lazily at the helm, but Hayden was still fast asleep. Kairi had been singing (rather loudly) since Jack put them to work a few hours ago.

Scott hardly noticed, though. He was lost in a world of his own. His thoughts swirled as he attempted to sift through them. Most of them were about Hayden… Okay, who was he kidding? They were all about Hayden.

He'd seen her empty bed when he'd woken up. She'd slept with Jack last night. Why had he even bothered poofing up three beds? He should have figured Hayden would end up in the pirate captain's bed. He knew they hadn't actually done anything last night, but it still hurt nonetheless. His feelings were as strong as they'd ever been, maybe stronger even. He loved her, but she didn't notice. She never would. She was too far-gone with Jack. And as much as that pained him, he'd rather see her happy than be happy himself. So what if that made him a martyr?

With a start, he realized Kairi had stopped singing and working and was staring at him. "Why so glum, Scott?" she asked, once she saw his attention on her.

"It's nothing," he told her. "Don't worry about it, Kai."

"Scotty. Really?"

"Really what?" He didn't know what she was getting at.

"I always wondered why you didn't make a move. I guess this explains it," she said, looking around at the ship.

"What are you talking about?"

"Scott, I know. I know you like Hayden. A lot. It's kind of obvious. Well, to everyone but her. I love Hayden, but she can be so oblivious to things."

Scott stopped what he was doing, holding the rope he'd been pulling limply in his hands. Were his feelings really so clear to everyone? Everyone but the person who matters most, it would seem. He sighed. "Yes, this is the reason I haven't said anything to her." That and the fact that even without Jack, he wasn't sure about her feelings toward him.

"You know, if you don't say something to her quick, things could happen." Kairi waggled her eyebrows.

"Yeah. I know," Scott replied curtly.

"Sorry," she said. He looked up at her. She wore a morose expression, much like himself. "Look, I know what it's like. What it feels like when you love someone who's in love with somebody else. And no, I'm not talking about James.

In the last year he'd known her, he'd never seen Kairi look like this. This girl could relate to both he and Hayden. How strange.

"Oddly enough," she began, "Pirates helped me get over him. Because I found James. Maybe it's not healthy to love a fictional character, but hey, look what happened. We're in the movie and he's real now. I just keep praying that I can get him to like me." She gave a sad, small smile.

It was then that Gibbs decided to interrupt them. "You're not bein' paid to stand around and chat."

"Oh, Gibbsy," Kairi said, plastering a huge grin on her face. "We're not being paid anything."

Gibbs frowned at her. "Get back to work before Jack has my head."

She complied, as did Scott, and Gibbs walked away to chastise another crewmember. "If you ask me," Kairi said while working, "you should make your move soon." And with that, she went back to singing her heart out.

…

When I woke, I was alone in the cabin. No sign of Jack, or even Kairi and Scott. I sat up in Jack's bed, yawning, stretching. I slowly made my way out of the captain's quarters.

The crew was busy at work, Scott and Kairi seemingly attempting to help out. Jack was at the wheel, staring at his compass.

I noticed then that the sun was beginning to set. What?

Kairi spotted me and rushed over. "You're finally up!" I guess I really had been exhausted. "We tried waking you up sooo many times, but you refused to get up. So finally we just left you to sleep." She shrugged.

I stood motionless for a moment before finally asking, "So I wasted a whole day?"

"It's not like you missed anything – nothing more from the movie till tonight, with Boo– "

"Shhh," I cut her off. We didn't need anyone here knowing what would happen next – not that we knew much. "Yeah, okay."

"Oh! You know what, though?" she asked.

"Hmm?"

"Jackie, the monkey – that cute little bugger stole Jack's hat earlier." She wore a huge smile. "It was so adorable."

That made me laugh. "So is the monkey officially Jackie now?" I asked. She grinned and nodded. I waved to Jack as he spotted me and left his post.

Even if nothing had happened to make some progress in the movie, I had still missed out on a whole day I could've been spending with Jack. I sighed, watching as he approached me. Tonight, tonight. He will get the Black Spot – that nasty growth-thing on his hand. Bleck. After that? He freaks out and we rush off to the cannibals.

He'll be a little distracted at that point to really notice me. Meaning I would have to grab his attention now, and do my best to hold it through the rest of the movie.

But how do I do that? I suppose there is one way that would probably get it… I mean, we've kissed a little, but that's about it. Plus I guess I do owe him for how long it's been since we've been together. But do I really want to do that? I mean, am I ready for that? I'm still a virgin, but if I could think of the best person to lose my virginity to, it would definitely be to Jack Sparrow! It's not like I'm a little kid anymore; I'm older and much wiser even than just a year ago.

Is this the right time, though? I mean, I want it to be special for me, and hopefully for Jack too (even though he's probably had sex with like hundreds of women before…)

As Jack approached me I attempted a carefree smile, although I suspect it looked a little strained. I think he noticed because he wrapped his arm around my waist, giving a little squeeze. "Evenin', love. Or mornin' for you." He grinned at me, directing me back toward his quarters. "Let's have a little chat, shall we?"

He led me inside, closing the door behind us before pulling me closer and crushing his lips against mine in a passionate kiss. This was nothing like yesterday. Yesterday's kiss had been sweet and gentle, but this…this was dark and sexy. This was seductive. And this was like nothing I had ever experienced.

Jack put one hand behind my head, keeping it firmly in place, and he moved his other hand to caress my breast.

My eyes, which I didn't even remember closing, popped open in surprise. Ok, I wasn't just a virgin. I had never done anything but kiss. I know I should have seen this coming, but I couldn't help my reaction. I tried pulling away a bit, but Jack still had a steel grip on me. "Wait," I said against his lips.

He complied, loosening his grip on me just slightly. "Yes, love?" he questioned. There was a flame in his eyes I had never before seen.

"Jack…" I trailed off, unsure of what to say. I didn't exactly know if I wanted to share with him that I was…well, completely new to everything (in the bedroom sense, at least).

He waited for me to continue, his eyes staring piercingly into mine.

"Well, um…I…Jack, I – "

I jumped as someone knocked on the door. "What is it?" Jack yelled to whoever it was, rather harshly. He dropped his arms from around me, and I took a baby-step back as the door opened.

"It's just me," Scott said poking his head in the doorway. It seemed like he was pretending not to notice that he'd interrupted something. "The guy at the wheel sent me to ask if you have an exact heading yet? He doesn't want to get us lost once we all go to sleep."

When he spoke, his voice was low and gruff. "Tell 'im to keep going straight," Jack said with a glare in Scott's direction.

Scott looked a little uneasy, but he gave a sheepish half-smile and said, "Will do," before hightailing it out of the room.

Neither Jack nor I spoke for what felt like ages. We didn't move either, just stayed frozen in place as if the closing door had stopped time. I sensed his eyes on me, but I stared at his chest instead of looking up to meet his gaze.

For once I was utterly speechless.

Finally, I murmured, "Maybe you should go check on everything before it gets too late." I slowly lifted my eyes to meet his, but he looked away. I couldn't place his expression. He looked almost….hurt.

With a flash, the emotion was gone, and he tipped his hat to me. "Aye, love. What a marvelous idea." Then he was gone, out the door.

What was that? I had never seen Jack look like that before. Had my refusal to speak upset him? Or was it simply because I had stopped his advances? I wasn't sure, although I secretly hoped it wasn't only about sex. I want Jack to love me, but I don't just want him to be thinking about sex… Is that too much to ask? Maybe too much from Jack Sparrow.

I sighed.

Dead Man's Chest was definitely going to be more difficult than expected.

…

I exited the room a few moments after him, allowing time to recollect myself. When I looked around, I noticed Jack was doing a quick onceover of the ship, making sure everything was still in order. In that moment, he almost looked responsible. His face was somber through his entire examination.

Something was wrong with him. Was it my fault?

After circling the ship, he disappeared back into his cabin. I didn't follow, deciding he needed some alone time. I wandered over to where Scott and Kairi sat, in the middle of the deck. "Yo ho, yo ho. A pirate's life for me," Kairi sang, while playing with little Jackie. "Isn't he just the cutest little bugger you ever did see?" she asked, looking up at me. "He's smart, too." She grinned, patting the wood floor next to her.

I sat. "Oh, definitely." I tried to smile, but it didn't quite reach my eyes. Kairi glanced up and frowned, but didn't say anything with Scott there, who didn't seem to notice anything was off. He also did speak of his obvious interruption of a little bit ago. In fact, he seemed lost in his own little world.

Kairi let Jackie run off on his own.

"Scotty," I said suddenly, "we need to find you a girl."

He looked up, clearly startled. "What? Here? There's really no need for that." He was stumbling over his words a little.

Kairi's mouth twitched upward, clearly finding this humorous. "Yeah, Scott. Is there any girl in this movie that you want?"

"I don't think Elizabeth will be an option, but you could still try." My smile was genuine this time.

"We can help. You just have to let us know who." She winked at him, giggling. I almost felt like I was missing something, looking between the two of them, but I shrugged it off.

After a brief silence, he shook his head, a grin playing across his lips. "No, I'm fine. I'll let you know if I decide I like someone, ok?"

"Alright," I said, "but don't come crying to us when you're alone because I have Jack and Kairi is gettin' it on with Norry." I winked at Kai, who actually blushed. I don't think I'd ever seen her blush.

We both chuckled for a moment, Scott just shaking his head in exasperation. "You two…" He laughed.

I grinned at my best friends, who grinned back at me. Sitting here with them was comforting, and I nearly forgot about my predicament with Jack…nearly.

Until Kairi suggested we go hang out in the captain's quarters with him. I agreed only because the sun had nearly set, daylight almost nonexistent. Plus this meant that Bootstrap's visit would be soon, and we all wanted to be there for that.

So we piled into Jack's room. He was sitting at his desk, studying a map. He didn't look up, knowing it was us. He continued what he was doing even when I plopped down on his desk and said, "Figure out where we're goin' yet?" I flashed a carefree smile, but he didn't even glance up to see. Just mumbled a small "mhmm" and continued staring at the map.

Kairi and Scott decided to relax on their beds, Kairi humming all the while.

After a few minutes, I grew bored and looked around for something to entertain myself. I noticed Jack's rum bottle and swiped it off his desk. Since he was ignoring me, he pretended not to see.

The bottle was almost gone. Maybe a quarter of it was left. I took a swig, immediately wincing. I'd forgotten what rum was like. I hadn't had any since my last adventure here. After the burning in my throat subsided, I took another drink.

I drank slowly, sometimes only taking little sips, but after about a half hour, I had the bottle polished off. I set it back on his desk.

A moment later, he picked it up. He stared at it as he tipped it upside down, looking troubled. He lifted an eyebrow, never taking his eyes off the bottle. "Why is the rum always gone?"

That's our cue.

Kairi and Scott perked up from their resting places. They'd been waiting. Kairi leapt up from her bed. "Action time," I heard her whisper.

The ship rocked, and as Jack got up, he stumbled. Picking up his hat, he muttered, "Oh." He put it on and went to grab his jacket. "That's why."

"Let's go," I said cheerfully.

Jack seemed to have forgotten what transpired between us earlier. "Come along, love," he said, draping his arm around my shoulders. He grabbed a lantern before we descended into the bowels of the ship.

"Finally something to do!" Kairi exclaimed.

Jack eyed me warily. "Something's about to happen, isn' it?" he questioned.

"Of course not," I lied, unconvincingly.

He didn't say anything for a moment, until we descended the first set of stairs and he saw the sleeping forms of his crew. He paused before saying –

"As you were, gents," came Kairi's voice from behind us. Jack and I turned back just in time to see her salute the sleepers.

"Stay outta my head, lass." Jack eyed her cautiously before heading toward more stairs, dragging me with him. I giggled.

I didn't know about my friends, but with each step we took towards the beginnings of our exciting adventure, my anticipation grew. Getting to meet Will's dad would certainly be a treat, especially since he wasn't expecting me, Kairi, and Scott to be tagging along with Jack.

We reached a door at the bottom of the stairs and he let go of me to dig his keys out of his jacket pocket. My excitement mounted as he unlocked the door and opened it. We all looked around the barrel-filled room with only the dim lantern light to see by. Jack hung the keys on a post and continued through the room. When we reached the racks on the wall, Jack's gaze lingered on the barnacles encrusting parts of them. He turned, saw the bottle on a lower rack. "Ah."

But when he grabbed it, that deep voice emanated through the room. "Time's run out, Jack."

We all froze.