THE CONVENIENT FRIEND

Author: Sparrows Mistress
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: You/Jack
Categories: Angst

Disclaimer: Johnny’s not under my bed. Vanessa came and stole him away. Captain Sparrow is no longer in my closet. Disney took him back. :::Pouts::: Sadly, I don’t own anything but my Captain tattoo on my ankle and they can’t take that away from me! I shall fight to the death! Aye! Avast!

Summary: Jack has fallen love and it has been ruined; she was found in the arms of another man. Now, grief-stricken, who does he turn to? You: the convenient friend.

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(It hurts to love someone and not be loved in return ~ Anon.)

The knock at the door came late in the night, rousing you from your peaceful slumber. Checking the clock you grumble: 3:47 a.m. You had only gotten to sleep a few hours earlier and from the lack of it lately, you weren't sure that it was wise for the company on the other side of the door if you opened it. Only a handful of people would dare to come this late at night and it better be important.

"I'm coming," you growl as you move through the house, pulling your housecoat closer around your nude body. You lived alone and didn't see the point of being conservative. Pulling open the door you stop, astounded at the sight that greets you. There stood Jack, the last person you would think of being on your doorstep. And he looked positively horrid. His dark hair was in disarray and his clothes were strewn around his body, looking very Un-Jack. He usually took better care of himself.

"I woke ye," he mumbles and you could tell he'd been drinking.

Shaking your head to clear the remnants of sleep, you manage a lop-sided grin. "It's all right, really," you tell him.

"I'm sorry lass. I didn't know where else to go," he slurred out.

"What's wrong?" you inquire, seeing the hurt in his eyes for the first time. Jack rarely showed emotion, so to see it lurking in his brown orbs alarms you. Then, as fast as you analyzed the emotion, you knew why it was there. There was only one thing, person rather, that could cause him such pain that he couldn't mask: Natalie.

"Let me guess," you drawl, irritated sarcasm dripping from your voice. He would come to your house when he was having woman trouble.

"Why guess when ye know?" he counters. He knew you hadn't liked his choice of women from the beginning. There had been something about Natalie that had grated on your nerves and Jack could see why. Never would he have thought Natalie would have walked over his heart the way she had.

With a jerk of your head, you motion him inside. Jack presses a kiss to your cheek and you close your eyes against the sentiment that tugs viciously at your hearts strings. The damned, traitorous bitch hadn't deserved Jack from the beginning. You deserve him. You know everything about the damned pirate and he about you.

Jack sits down in one of the chairs that flanked the fireplace that you barely used. The red embers are burning out from your cooking dinner earlier; the fire made the house unbearably hot. Walking in from the kitchen, you carry a glass for yourself and a bottle of rum for Jack. Pouring a glass of the liquid before handing the bottle over to him, you take a seat in the opposite chair and wait. Jack guzzled down half of the bottle before he started, hoping to drowned the pain.

"I came into port early, hoping to surprise Natie. When I came to the house, I saw a carriage parked outside but didn't think anything of it. Natie is always buying flashy things," he slurs, running a weary hand over his face; you could tell that he hadn't shaved that day. Another quarter of the bottle was gone quickly and you worried; you'd never seen Jack drink this way. "Well, I walked into the house, quietly so she wouldn't know I was there and that's when----that's when----oh fuck," he moaned, sending the bottle across the room and it shattered against the wall.

"Shit Jack!" you screech, watching the slivers of the broken bottle and rum rain down onto the floor. You'd just cleaned that day----damn it. Giving Jack a glare, you cross your arms over your chest in anger.

"I'll be cleanin' it up lass, promise. I just can't believe that. With. Am I that ugly that Natie would run to him?" Jack groaned out. The sadness in his eyes made you want to rip her eyes out just for putting a glimmer of that emotion there. Those eyes were supposed to be happy, brilliantly mad, and loving.

"Who?" you ask, pushing your thoughts aside.

"Norrington. Natalie was with Norrington when I came home," Jack moaned.

Silenced by the news, you slump backwards in the chair, appalled. Never would you have thought that Natalie would have stooped as low as to cheat on Jack; the one thing that he couldn't handle and especially with Norrington.

"God Jack, I'm sorry," you breathe.

Jack leans forward to rest on his knees and his fingers thread into his hair. You lean forward also, covering one of his hands with yours which he takes into his and holds tightly. He feels the single emerald stone that adorns your finger and that brings a slight smile to his face. Unlike all the jewelry he had brought home for Natalie, that she never wore, he had brought you one ring and you never took it off.

"I never do," you say aloud, knowing the thought that was going through his mind and you hear him laugh in a low tone. "Come on Jack, it's late and I don't feel like getting your bedding out; I haven't been sleeping well."

He followed you, staggering slightly back to your bedroom, where he fell down on the bed and you followed. It was nothing new for you both to share the same bed when he came to the house. Within moments, you are wrapped into the protectiveness of Jack's arms and his even breathing tells you that he is asleep. The feeling of Jack's body pressing against your in his sleep felt so right, yet, you knew nothing could be said.

You'd been friends for years and Jack considered you more of a sister than anything else which hurt you more than words could say. If you were to tell him of what you felt, his idea of the bond you both had would be shattered. You even had the feeling that if you told him, it would destroy him more than Natalie's betrayal.

You drift off to sleep, relishing the feeling of being Jack's for the night. At least in your dreams, you could be with him and that offered solace.

You awake the next morning, cold and alone. You roll over and a bright flash of the suns rays blinds you and you shield your eyes. Since the sun had risen you knew that Jack was already gone. It was always before the suns first rays that Jack disappeared, like he was never even there. You are still in your robe and you rise from the bed, the wood warm from the suns beating rays onto the floor. Upon leaving your bedroom, you notice the blanket and pillow that are folded and stacked up on the couch. He obviously woke in the night and moved which brought a saddened frown to your sleepy face. Atop the pillow was a note, folded in half, with your initial on the front in the bold script that could only be Jack's.

With a deep breath of knowing, you pick up the paper and begin to read.

Dearest,

JS

You fold the note back in half and lay it down on the table. You notice that the glass of the broken bottle had been cleared away and the floor had been moped. Walking to the front door, you stare outside and wipe the single tear away from your cheek that had fallen.

In Jack's eyes, no matter how much love you hold for the man, he would always see you as the convenient friend.

THE END

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