( ♞ | hangtherules )

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     She’s  not   unaccustomed  to  people  staring.    While  she  doesn’t
     consider  herself  a  creature  of  beauty  by  any means,   she knows
     she’s  not  unfortunate  looking  either.   Still,   his  steady  gaze  is  a
     little  unnerving.   There’s  an  intensity  to  it  that  she’s  never   seen
     before.   Nobody  has   ever  looked  at  her  that  way  before,   at  the
     very least.

     She throws a  glance or two his  way every now and then, wondering
     if he’s finally come back to himself enough to realize that his staring
     is rude, but each time, she catches his gaze lingering. 

     Snapping  her  book  shut  and  hugging  it  to  her chest, Lizzie pulls
     herself out of her seat  and heads in his direction.   It takes all of her
     courage   to  approach   him  without   seeming   anxious,    and  her
     determination shows clearly in her features.

                        “I’m sorry, do I have something on my face?”

                       The usual morning BUSTLE of the coffee shop is something Will’s gotten USED to, a result of having FREQUENTED the establishment much to OFTEN. Fingers are CURLED around a cardboard cup of coffee that costs MORE than it’s worth, but its CAFFEINE, and that’s all he cares about in the moment. He’s lost TRACK of how long he’s been sitting there, UNCARING of who enters or exits. COUNTLESS years have taught him how to IGNORE those around him, to LOSE himself in his mind. It was a SOLITARY existence, but the only one he knew. He’d long since learned that ATTACHMENTS of any sort STOLE something from him every time the other party DIED. Oh to live forever – what a PRIVILEGE. He raises his cup to his lips, swallowing the BITTER liquid. The corners of his lips QUIRK up into a sardonic half smile as he RAISES his cup again, a small TOAST to the goddess CALYPSO. He’d thought that once his destiny had been FULFILLED, he’d join his CREW in their final resting place. But the years had CONTINUED to pass, even AFTER the Dutchman disappeared. He wondered if IMMORTALITY was to be his PUNISHMENT for something he’d done in a PAST life. 

                         Lips thinned into a BARELY visible line as he considered this, though he pushed the thought ASIDE after a moment. No use THINKING about it, not when there was nothing that could be DONE. The cup of coffee is placed to the side of the table he’s managed to PROCURE for himself, newspaper splayed out before him. There has to be a THOUSAND different movies he’s paralleling at the moment, flipping the pages to the CROSSWORD in a dingy coffee shop in London. His lips TWIST into a small smile as he considers that. Turning to the bag at his side, Will begins RUMMAGING for something to write with, eager to have SOMETHING to keep his mind busy. It’s then that he hears a VOICE, one that goes through him like an ELECTRIC SHOCK. The pen Will had found FALLS from his fingers, clattering to the floor though the sound is SWALLOWED by that of the machinery used by the baristas. His gaze remains GLUED on the floor, his breath CAUGHT in his lungs as his eyes slide SHUT.   It’s not the same voice.   He tells himself firmly, FORCING his frozen limbs to MOVE again. Leaning down, his fingers WRAP around the pen easily, and he pulls himself into a sitting position though he still REFUSES to glance up. He can still heard the woman’s voice, the rise and fall of it in the shop. Everything else has QUIETED, her voice the only thing he CARES to listen to though every second of it tears at something in his very soul. It’s been YEARS since his heart was carved from his chest, but he could SWEAR he felt it pounding out a RAGGED rhythm. 

                           Though he TRIES to keep his eyes on the table before him, it isn’t LONG before Will chances a glance in the direction of the voice, CURIOSITY getting the better of him. At first he DOESN’T see her, the small line at the counter HIDING her from view. But then the barista is calling for the next customer and the line SHIFTS – as does Will’s   entire world.   He’s not BREATHING anymore, that’s for certain, hand clenched so TIGHT around the poor pen that, if he were more FOCUSED , he’d have worried about SNAPPING it in half. His other hand is SHAKING – how can it NOT be, when he’s staring at a woman who happens to the be the SPITTING IMAGE of the one he’d HELD in his arms all those years ago, blood STAINING the sand as she passed. The MEMORY slaps him in the face, PAIN running through him in CRUSHING waves. He’s tried so HARD to push her from his memories, to keep from RELIVING her death again and again and again. And now, IMPOSSIBLY, she’s sitting before him again. A CHILL runs through him as the memory continues, and his lips MOVE in time with the memory, barely whispering.     

                                       “ I will find you again.”

                             Seconds turn into minutes as he tries to find a way to SLAM the door shut on the influx of emotion that’s GRIPPED him, still STARING for fear that she’ll disappear if he looks away. He can’t help the way he’s PANICKING internally, feels as though he’s forgotten how to BREATHE. Nothing prepares him for when she STANDS, moving through the shop with a fire in her eyes that he KNOWS. It takes him a second to realize that she’s moving towards HIM. When she finally reaches him, it’s all Will can do to keep from RUNNING, fleeing from the GHOST of his past that is surely here to TORMENT him with all that he’s lost. But it’s been so LONG that he can’t move, can’t leave when she’s standing in front of him, ALIVE. What he wouldn’t give to cup her cheek, if only to feel the WARMTH of it. Anything to chase AWAY the memory of her (cold & dead ) on a shore that offered nothing to the FALLEN Pirate King. It takes him a moment to CHOKE out a response, finally tearing his eyes AWAY from her. 

                            No, I’m sorry, I just – His eyes DART to the crossword, fingers relaxing around the pen as he SPINS it towards her. I was just having trouble with 17 across, and I suppose I zoned out while trying to remember it. I’m sorry if I caused you any discomfort – it wasn’t my intention, Miss. ”   It’s a bloody MIRACLE his voice doesn’t ( shake. ) He can only hope his hands aren’t, either.

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you ignored the

independent will turner
from pirates of the caribbean

selective & private
oc & crossover friendly

replies will be slow

rules of engagement

written by LEA

est. april 24, 2015

TRACKING:
gameofdeception