When you stepped on deck the next morning, you could see Jack already standing on the quarterdeck again, in one hand the steering wheel, in the other his compass. From what you knew, this compass was really precious to him; he kept it by his side all the time. And somehow it was also the key to find the Isla de Muerta, the phantom island and location of the treasure of Hernán Cortés and the Black Pearl. From what you knew, she was the real purpose of the journey.
You walked towards the quarterdeck and ignored Gibbs who shouted instructions and distributed tasks. You had spotted your coat hanging over Jack's shoulders, and while his coat was significantly warmer than yours's, with its capped sleeves, you still assumed that the pirate would want his coat back, sooner or later.
Your eyes wandered over his body, from your coat hanging over his shoulders, to his long sleeves loose shirt that was only buttoned halfway, to his face and his hazel eyes.
Only to find that he was already staring at you.
He smirked at your surprised expression, and you did your best to look as confident and unbothered as possible while you climbed up the stairs to the quarterdeck.
"Have you slept well, love?", Jack asked.
"I found out I'm not a particular fan of hammocks", you answered and handed him his coat, avoiding eye contact with the flirty pirate.
The events of last night were still rattling around in your head and you didn't know what to think.
But when you held out his coat to him, Jack suddenly grabbed your outstretched arm and pulled you very close. You were startled and gasped.
Now your faces were only inches apart and you were forced to look straight into his hazel eyes. You felt Jack's hard chest against yours and your heart started to race immediately. You were so close to him, again. Just like last night, you could feel his breath and the beating of his heart, and the tingling sensation you had felt before recurred everywhere his rough yet warm hands touched your skin.
Jack looked down on you and grinned lasciviously, and you could see his gold teeth.
"I'll always have a free spot for you in my bed if you are interested, love", he said in a low voice and without backing away even the slightest bit.
It took you a moment, but when you realized what Jack had meant, your cheeks flushed in embarrassment. As a reflex, you wriggled your arm out of his grip and pushed him away. You snatched your coat from his shoulders and muttered, "No thanks" as you stumbled nervously away.
And tripped directly into the arms of William Turner. When he had recognized you, he grabbed you by your shoulders and looked at you with a worried but also somewhat relieved expression.
"(y/n), are you alright?", he asked, "I was worried sick about you the whole night."
Your cheeks were still burning with shame, and you still hadn't processed what Jack had offered you in his lascivious ways before. Therefore, you had trouble concentrating on Will as he talked to you. But you knew that the young man in front of you had saved your life last night, so, you pulled yourself together.
"Yes, I am alright!", you answered and smiled warmly, "But only thanks to you, Will! You saved me from a horrifying death in the waves of this awful storm, and for that I owe you my life! This is a debt I'll never be able to repay!"
"Don't be ridiculous (y/n), every honorable man would have done that. You owe me nothing!", Will answered like the gentleman he was.
You were amazed by his kindness and true soul. You've only known each other for a very short period of time, a little over a day in fact, and yet he treated you very well. Just like Chris, he treated you like a little sister. Even though you were a whole year older than him.
But that didn't seem to bother Will at all. He still had that brotherly instinct to protect you and look out for you. And you were more than happy to have a strong man like Will by your side.
You imagined that the two of you would become good friends in the future.
As you two continued talking and completed some of your chores so Gibbs wouldn't get mad, you suddenly noticed a thickening mist curling around the ship and crew like a white sheet. It looked ghostly, frightening, like a long snake slowly making its way towards its clueless victim. A certain uneasiness was spreading amongst the crew. You wondered, where that spooky mist was suddenly coming from, as did Will and the rest on the Interceptor.
The ship was currently in the open sea, not even close to a shore where sea fog was more common.
Only Jack Sparrow, who you secretly glanced up at occasionally, didn't seem surprised at all. He stood on the quarterdeck, now wearing his coat again, fixated on the compass in his hand while the mist was already curling around his feet.
Then the ship sailed through a particularly thick wall of fog, and suddenly you knew why he wasn't.
The Interceptor wasn't on the open sea like you had thought.
Instead, a large stone island appeared in front of you. This must be the Isla de Muerta, the phantom island that Will told me about, you thought. The Isla de Muerta was an island that couldn't be found except for those who already knew where it was.
The crew moved to the railing to get a better view on the massive mountains of stone in front of them. You stood by them between Gibbs and Will.
In some of the faces of your fellow sailors you could see more fear and shock than true excitement or enthusiasm and you had to admit that the view that was presented to you now, frightened you greatly too.
Through the thick fog, you could make out the shapes of half-sunken ships. Worn masts were rotting in the air, the only sign of the vessels that lay below the waves. Elsewhere, upside-down hulls, could be seen, holes worn away in the wood. It was a graveyard of lost ships.
Shipwreck Cay, a passage of the dead and drowned, you thought, where many sailors were claimed by either the sea or hungry sharks crowding the waters.
It felt like the weight of all the departed souls of this bay weighed on you and you trembled. What a cursed place!
In addition to the spooky fog and frightening atmosphere, Mr. Cotton's parrot was now also croaking loudly.
"Dead men don't tell tales," he croaked, sending chills down your spine.
"Puts a chill in the bones how many honest sailors have been claimed by this passage", Gibbs said into the silence as if he had read your mind, and you looked up to him. Gibbs then moved back from the railing to the other side of the Interceptor to fasten some sails.
"How is it that Jack came by that compass?", Will asked out of the blue and walked after Gibbs.
"That would interest me too", you said and followed them.
Gibbs looked at Jack first and then back to the two of you. "Not a lot's known about Jack before he showed up in Tortuga with a mind to find the treasure of the Isla de Muerta. That was before I'd met him", he pulled out a flask man and took a sip, "back when he was captain of the Black Pearl."
"What?", you two asked at the same time and looked at each other in surprise and confusion. Captain?
Gibbs made a guilty face, like he was being caught by doing something secret and forbidden.
"He failed to mention that", Will commented and you could hear the betrayal in his voice.
"He plays things closer to the vest now", Gibbs turned his gaze back to Jack and you and Will followed his eyes, "A hard-learned lesson it was. See, three days out on the venture, the first mate comes to him and says "Everything is an equal share. That means the location of the treasure too." So, Jack gives up the bearings. That night, there was a mutiny. They marooned Jack on an island and left him to die, but not before he'd gone mad with the heat."
Gibbs were telling Jack's story with passion, happy to have willing listeners. And you wouldn't lie, you enjoyed hearing about the pirates' life.
"Ah", Will said, "So that's the reason for all the..." And did his best impression of Jack that was possible. You chuckled in amusement about the similarities to the cocky but sometimes disoriented pirate.
But Gibbs stayed serious.
"Reason's got nothing to do with it. Now, (y/n), Will", he sat down and lowered his voice to get your full attention, "when a pirate's marooned, he's given a pistol with a single shot- one shot. That won't do much hunting, nor to be rescued. But after three weeks of a starving belly and thirst, that pistol started to look real friendly."
Gibbs mimicked a pistole with his fingers and held them against his temple.
"But Jack,", he continued, "he escaped the island and still has that single shot. Oh, he won't use it, though, save on one man. His mutinous first mate."
"Barbossa", Will exclaimed.
"Aye."
"But how did jack get off the island?", you asked into the silence. Will and Gibbs looked at you perplexed.
"The island he was marooned on, how did he escape it?"
"Well, I'll tell ye", Gibbs answered, "He waded out into the shallows and waited there three days and three nights till all manner of sea creatures came acclimated to his presence. And on the fourth morning, he roped himself a couple of sea turtles, lashed them together and made a raft."
While Gibbs had told you the whole story with a lot of confidence and enthusiasm and looked very convinced about this theory too, you and Will looked rather skeptical and unconvinced at each other. Sea Turtles?
"He roped a couple of sea turtles", you said unbelievingly, and the doubt was noticeable in your voice.
"Aye, sea turtles."
"What did he used for rope?", Will asked as doubtingly as you did.
Gibbs opened and closed his mouth again. This time, he didn't have a suitable answer and he looked unsure himself, not knowing what to say. He looked up and suddenly Jack was standing right in front of you.
"Human hair. From my back", he said.
"Disgusting", you remarked and made a grimace while Will nodded in agreement.
But that didn't seem to be a bother for Jack and instead he ordered the crew to let go of the anchor. Then he turned back and looked at Will. He seemed serious and you thought that now was maybe a good time to disappear unseen and you started to back away as quiet as possible and moved past Jack.
"Young Mr. Turner and I are to go ashore", he said and then suddenly also grabbed you by your arm and pushed you back into your original place next to Will, "And Miss Saunders shall accompany us."
"What?", you asked perplexed.
But were greatly ignored.
"Captain. What if the worst should happen?", Gibbs asked.
"Keep to the code", Jack answered him without much consideration.
"Aye. The code."
Will looked at you quizzingly, then went after Jack.
"But Jack, why (y/n)? She has nothing to do with this. I am the one who wants to save Elizabeth. She'll stay here!"
"No, Mr. Turner, she won't", Jack said surprisingly serious and with force, "You and Miss Saunders sail under my flag, and you'll take your captain's orders, savvy?"
Then he looked directly into your eyes.
"The lassie is coming!"