Choosing You (Will Turner)

22

Evelyn gently swung herself in her small hammock. Her face read blank as she starred off into space, specifically at the wooden barrel right in front of her dangling leg. It was mostly silent under the deck of the Pearl. The only noises that could be heard was the crashing of waves against the sides of the ship and the creaking of the wood and iron. Murmuring of men talking up on deck were hushed compared to the other noises. A few lanterns were lit from their spots all around below the deck, creating a soft orange glow. It was peaceful to Evelyn. She rarely spent any time down below the decks. After her talk with Jack, she crept down here and found an empty hammock hanging in a hidden corner by random barrels. It was too late for her to go look for Will and she knew how desperately he needed sleep. So did she. But she didn't. Too much was on her mind for her to turn it off and dream. Even as morning grew and the crew slowly began to wake into their hungover state, she still couldn't find any way to fall asleep.

Air blew through her nose as she dug the back of her head deep into her fluffy pillow, eyes flickering up to the dark, wooden ceiling. Her bare toes pushed against the ground gently rocked the hammock, attempting to lull herself to sleep or at least to settle her nerves.

Gentle footsteps grew closer and closer towards Evelyn. Turning her head to the side, she watched as Will came into view, hair loose from its usually ponytail. Her lips curled up into a bright smile. The color from the lanterns created a beautiful glow around Will, bringing out more of his handsome features. His lips pulled back into a smile as well.

"What are you doing down here?" He asked softly, glancing down at the barrel. Walked around it, Will sat himself down, brushing his knees against Evelyn's leg.

Evelyn's emerald eyes watched him closely. She snuggled herself even more in the hammock. "Well I was up late talking with Jack. I was going to go find you afterwards but it was too late and I wanted you to rest. You need it." She moved her hands from her sides and folded them on her stomach

"So do you." Will hunched over, resting his forearms on his knees. His hair fell past his shoulders, covering the sides of his face. Lifting his hands up, he went to tie his hair back but Evelyn extended her hand, brushing her fingers against one of his elbows.

"No. Don't. Leave your hair down." Will watched her, slowly lowering his arms as Evelyn gently traced over a few strands. Evelyn's smile soften, slight heat rising to her cheeks. "It's so rare I get to see your hair like this." She avoided his eyes, shamefully looking at his hair. Slowly, she pulled her hand away but was caught by Will's hand.

Will lowered their arms, dropping her hand down in front of his knee to loosely hold it. "So why did you come down here? Doesn't Jack have a small room for you to usually sleep in?" He asked curiously, moving his eyes back up to her face.

"I'll have enough time to sleep in a bed once we get home. I don't know when I'm going to get a chance to sleep like this ever again." Evelyn's smile faltered and Will noticed. He gave her a gentle squeeze.

"You're going to miss it aren't you?" Will asked softly, looking at her through his eyelashes.

Evelyn nodded. "I don't want to go through the whole spiel but you know what my life was like before Jack and Barbossa. We lived a dull life, William Turner. The only good part before pirating about was you. I don't know what would have become of me if all of this didn't happen." She stopped swaying the hammock, staring right at Will.

Will's eyebrows flickered up then down. "Well," he glanced up at the ceiling before looking down at her. "Let's see, you probably wouldn't have been so rebellious against your mother. Become very proper, maybe even like Elizabeth. Then marry Leo and already have children by now and live in a big house with lots of rooms."