The ship was quiet during the voyage back to Port Royal. Most of the soldiers, including Commodore Norrington and Governor Swann, were all fast asleep. Catherine and Elizabeth had still been awake, sitting inside their shared cabin in silence.
Neither one of them knew exactly what to say after they had finished speaking of what happened. Catherine was beside herself with Will. She couldn't believe he didn't say anything to Elizabeth, other than making a comment about the Commodore worrying for her. It was the perfect opportunity for Will to confess his feelings for Elizabeth. Catherine had hoped that one of them would say something, but her hopes were rather low.
A feeling in her gut twisted, reminding her of her avoidance to speak to Jack. She was angry at herself for not speaking to him of the small things between then, and yet, she was relieved.
Shaking her head, she moved the thoughts of him out, focusing on her attention on her heartbroken cousin. She wrapped an arm around her shoulders, giving a comforting squeeze. "I wish things could be different, Lizzy, I really do." Catherine bit her lip, "I thought he'd say something, anything really." She bit back the comments about her cousin possibly making an effort.
"So do I," Elizabeth said quietly, swallowing the lump in her throat. "But all that matters to me now is that he is alive. I can sleep better knowing he is alive, not dead because I was so stupid." She shifted uncomfortably.
"Don't talk like that," Catherine tsk softly. "You thought you were helping, possibly saving the town. You also were trying to keep yourself alive, but still." She moved her cousin's chin to look at her, "You were very brave for what you did, Lizzy. Bravery and idiocy tend to go hand in hand I've learned from watching Will." She laughed, earning a small laugh from Elizabeth.
Elizabeth grasped Catherine's hands, squeezing them tightly in hers. "Thank you, Catherine, for always being there for me," She smiled softly, turning more to look at her cousin. "Now, what about you?"
This took Catherine back entirely.
"What about me?"
"What about you and Jack?"
Catherine hesitated, unsure of what to say, "There is nothing there, Lizzy." She couldn't tell if it was a lie. It tasted almost metallic in her mouth to say out loud.
The knowing cousin raised her brows, her eyes showing she wasn't buying it for one second. "I know you feel something for him. I also know you well enough to know you haven't said anything." This earned her a burning glare. Elizabeth ignored it, holding her hands tighter. "But you should Catherine, you have a chance to talk to him. You must. Do it for the ones who aren't able to." There was a sadness in her eyes that made Catherine's glare begin to fade.
"I don't even know what to say," She whispered, sounding ashamed to even be saying those words.
"It will come to you," Elizabeth reassured. "Go to him, Catherine. I know you want too." She nodded to the door, staring at her cousin.
Catherine looked up at the door, feeling insecure all of a sudden. Looking back to Elizabeth, she sighed, giving a small nod. "Fine." She muttered, rising to her feet and walking out of the door.
The deck was entirely empty, giving her the perfect opportunity to disappear below deck to the brig. It was quiet for the most part, small sounds, such as the ship creaking, filling the empty void. There was no one else around the cells, no one watching the pirate who laid awake on the wooden boards. Her foot steps caught Jack's attention, making him snap his head towards the new noise. "Catherine?" He questioned, expecting her to be one of the last people who'd visit him. "What are you doing down here?" He rose to his feet, stepping up to the bars of his cell.
Just as she feared, she was at a lost for words. Her eyes casted down as she stepped up to the bars, wrapping her hands around them. "I don't know," She finally whispered.
She didn't have to look up to feel Jack's grin. "You don't know?" He questioned. "Catherine, you are a woman who doesn't do things without a reason. You clearly have a reason to be down her this late at night." Jack leaned forward against the bars, holding on to the bar above his head with one hand.
She hated that he knew her well enough to figure that out.
Swallowing, she lifted her chin to meet his dark eyes. "I wanted to speak with you," She spoke, attempting to regain some form of confidence, even if everything inside her said otherwise.
"I'm all ears, love," Jack replied coolly.
Catherine held his eyes, feeling herself blurt out, "Why did you lie to me? To Gibbs? Had us, me, believing you escape the island the way you did?"
The pirate's face contorted into confusion, his grin fading away. He glanced around, slightly irrigated, "I thought we already discussed this," He breathed out.
"But you lied to me. I trusted you and you lied to me about it. You honestly had me believing that you were some grand adventurer, this spectacle of a pirate." Her words tasted so rotten on her tongue but she couldn't stop, couldn't stop her mask of words.
Jack pushed off the bars, taking a step back, "Why are you even down here?"
Catherine opened her mouth and closed it. She opened her mouth to say, "I don't know, I just couldn't stop myself, I guess."
"Well if you are here just to pick a fight with me, then you can leave." Jack took a few more steps back to the wall behind him across the cell.
Before Catherine could stop herself, she heard these words come form her mouth, "Well I wouldn't have to pick a fight with you if you didn't bother me so much."
There was no sign of pain that flashed across the pirate's face. He stood, observing her with questioning eyes. "Why do I bother you so much, Catherine?" He asked calmly.
"W-what?" She stuttered, feeling her heart begin to pound in her chest.
Jack pushed himself off the wall, slowly beginning to walk back to her. "Why do I bother you so much, Catherine?" His eyes looked as if they were trying to pry into her mind.
"Because I do," She replied lamely, feeling herself being pushed into a corner.
"That's not a real answer," His voice dropped low.
Catherine felt her anger rise, "It is a real answer."
The pirate reached the cell door, holding the metal bars above their heads. "You clearly don't have a real answer so you are hiding behind this one."
She got close to Jack's face, "You bother me, you always do. You are clearly bothering me right now, asking the same question I have already answered."
"You haven't answered the question, Catherine," Jack fired back. "Now, I am going to ask you once more, why do I bother you so much?"
"Because I hate you!" Catherine screamed, feeling herself begin to shake, not phasing Jack for even a second. She lost the grasp on herself, "I hate you. I despise you. I can't stand to be around you, to listen to your idiotic nonsense! You are selfish and—and veil! You irritate and vex me without so much as breathing and I can't stand it! And what I can't stand even more, what I despise even more than you is how much I want you. How much I burn for you. I want to love you, to hold you, to be yours...even more so I want to be mine...and I hate it." Angry tears sliced down her cheeks.
The truth finally ripped through the lie.
It was just a reaction.
Catherine panted, her angry tears burning her cheeks.
Jack stood there, his eyes wide, "I knew it." He whispered, no sign of amusement in his words.
And yet, they sent another wave of anger through Catherine. She pushed off the bars, feeling herself begin to cry. "You don't know anything!" She shouted, pointing her finger at him, tearing her eyes from him. She looking to the side away from him, feeling everything inside her rip from her. Helpless was all she felt now. The latch to her heart and truth was now open, and she couldn't shut it.
"I love you." Jack's face fell, eyes growing glassy.
She froze.
Looking back to him, Catherine shook her head, whispering over and over, "No."
"Why do you constantly push me away, avoid my feelings. I am in love with you, Catherine. I love you. Lie to yourself about your feelings. I know you love me." Jack snapped, his eyes growing glassy now.
Catherine's heart roared, making her move towards the cell door, "I do!"
"You just can't stand that someone below your standard is who you love." Jack let out a humorless scoff.
"That's not true! I can't stand how easy it is to love you. How much power you have over me. And I can't stand how when we return to Port Royal, I will lose you. I can't stand the idea of losing you, but I will lose you. I will never be able to love you or to touch you." She swallowed, trying to regain some composure, hold her emotions just awhile longer before she falls apart entirely. "So the only way to save myself from the worse possible thing is to push my feelings away, push you away." Her body and lip quivered, she shook her head, " I can't love you, Jack Sparrow, I can't love you."
Jack's face grew desperate, moving his face close to hers. "Then tell me the truth, Catherine, I need to hear it." He begged, pulling the bars as if it would bring him closer to her.
Catherine sighed, closing her eyes as sorrowful tears moved down her cheeks now. She held on to the bars, allowing him to wrap his on top of hers. "You irritated and vexed me to no end in the beginning. Over time, I found myself beginning to feel for you. I masked it because I knew the hard truth that would come. You would never settle for wife—"
"That's not true," Jack protested, squeezing her fingers.
She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing herself to ignore him.
"I fought my feelings. I fought them. I couldn't let them be free, be known. I tried to deny it, I tried, but I can't." She blinked, feeling the next truth to be the hardest, "But, Jack, I can't love you, because I can't have you."
Catherine rested her forehead in between two of the bars, feeling the coolness of the metal. She closed her eyes as Jack pressed his forehead against hers, making her tremble even so slightly.
"Say it," He commanded in a desperate, pathetic tone. "Please," He whispered.
Taking in a deep breath, the last bit of truth was released.
"I love you."
Jack's nose slid against hers, desperate to press his lips to hers, but Catherine wouldn't budge. She said far too much, knew too much of the truth. She couldn't kiss him, couldn't taste him. Inside, she knew she could never kiss him, just after one kiss she would be addicted. It would pain her to much to kiss him just once.
"Catherine, Catherine, please," Jack begged, nudging his nose against hers.
She shook her head, "I can't, I can't."
Before she could pull away, Jack removed a hand, gripping her chin. He tilted her chin up, crashing his lips against hers.
Catherine's mind and body went completely silent.
Even through the bars of the cell, Jack molded his lips against Catherine's lips, slipping a hand through the bars to press his hand into her lower back. She stepped forward, closing her eyes and kissing Jack back. Catherine slipped her hands inside, gripping his waist, trying to get closer to him.
When they parted, Jack rested his head against hers, "I love you, Catherine."
Catherine opened her eyes as she pulled away from his touch, looking at him with such sadness. "I love you, Jack, but we can't." Jack opened his mouth to speak, but Catherine beat him to it, "It doesn't matter now, not anymore. When we return to Port Royal, it won't matter how I feel or how you feel because we can't be together." Hot, broken tears raced down her cheeks.
Heartbreak held Jack's face, shattered the last bit of Catherine's heart.
She backed away, taking one last look at Jack before rushing away from his cell. Reaching the stairs, she saw her best friend standing underneath them. Her eyes captured Wills as he was standing hidden, silently telling her he had been listening to the entirety of her conversation with the pirate. His eyes grew sympathetic for his best friend, but Catherine couldn't be near Jack anymore. She rushed up the stairs, leaving Will behind.
Reaching the cabin door, Catherine shut the door behind her, sliding down to the ground with her tears. Elizabeth had jumped up when the door was shut, causing her to looked at Catherine. Her face fell, instantly realizing what had just happened to her cousin. She rushed over to the door, dropping to the ground to pull Catherine into her arms, holding her as she sobbed over her broken heart.
FINALLY!!!!
IT FINALLY HAPPENED EVERYONE!!!
Hi everyone! I hope you all are doing well and enjoyed this weeks update!! I was freaking out while writing. I almost didn't include the kiss, I hadn't planned on it. Originally, I planned for them to kiss at the end of the book but I was too invested to stop it hahaha.
So this book had a good handful of chapters left, I'm not entirely sure! I will be publishing my Harry Potter/Fantastic Beasts imagine book soon! I'm not sure when, I want to have a good amount of imagines ready before I publish it.
Anyways, enjoy this chapter and have a good week!!