#tomxoc

Tom didn’t know how long he sat in his car outside his best friend’s house. He continued to stare at the modest red bricked house he practically grew up in with Phillip and his little sister, Lily, remembering his life before he was launched into the spotlight and made it big. Before where he wasn’t constantly being followed by cameras and he could get a damn cup of coffee from his neighborhood café without it being splashed on the front pages of The Daily Mail. The simpler days were what he deeply craved right now especially since at the age of thirty-eight, he was sending off his last bachelor friend into the land of holy matrimony while he had no inkling of a love interest in sight. Of course, despite his desperately single status, the tabloids had a way to spin anything into a story.

Just last week, his publicist, Luke, rang him at five in the morning, alerting him that he wasn’t going to like what he sees when picks up the paper. Apparently, Tom was in a secret relationship with Ukraine’s top model with icy blue eyes and hair so blonde, it was almost white. Tom had only met her in passing at one of the galas he was forced to attend because his agency thought it would be a good networking session and if he was being honest, he couldn’t quite remember her name. Lydia? Linda? Lisa?

“Are you just going to sit there all day or are you going to come in?” A female’s voice broke through his thoughts so abruptly, he jumped up in his seat, and banged his head on the roof of his car. The owner of the voice snorted.

Rubbing the top of his head, he whipped his head and glared at the strikingly beautiful woman standing next to his car. For a moment, Tom was rendered speechless. It has been a long time since he saw Lily. Aside from the few short emails and text messages exchanged between them and any news passed on from Phillip these past few years, Tom hadn’t actually seen Lily all grown up. Instead of the awkward gangly kid sister he had engrained in his memory, Lily, at age twenty-nine, had filled out her figure. From her silky violet bridesmaid’s dress that hugged her body, he could tell her breasts were full, probably spilling out of his large hands if he were to cup them. His eyes lowered from her cleavage to a trim waist and hips that flared out. He didn’t have to look to know that Lily had a great ass.

“Tom?” Lily knocked on the window when he continued staring. “My eyes are up here.”

Tom gulped, his cheeks warming. Did he really get caught staring at his best friend’s little sister?

“For the record,” He opened the car door smoothly, effectively pushing her back away from him, and slammed it shut. “I was looking at the stain on your dress.”

Lily gasped, looking immediately down at her spotless dress and growled. “Still haven’t grown up?”

“No, I’m afraid not.” Tom smiled smugly and walked past Lily, leading the way into the bustling house filled with family and friends. Phillip and his fiancée had chosen to keep the celebrations small, opting to hold the ceremony in the backyard they played in during their elementary school years. “How bad is it in there?”

“Why do you think I’m out here talking to your lanky arse?” Lily huffed, trailing after him. Her dress was so long, she had to lift up the fabric just to walk. She picked up her pace and walked ahead of him, confirming his earlier suspicion. Lily had an ass that made Tom’s mouth dry and his pants a bit tighter. “Brace yourself, mom’s a bit high-strung.”

 **

It had been almost six years since Lily last saw Tom. That is, of course, if that didn’t count all the movies or television appearances and the tabloids Lily religiously watched Tom in. One movie was all it took to take her brother’s best friend from small town actor that barely scraped by to a hot heartthrob that was loved by all. Sometimes she hated the character Loki. If Tom never got casted as Loki, he would have stayed in London more. He wouldn’t miss any important traditions or events like Christmas, Phillip’s birthdays, or most importantly, her birthday. Every event Tom missed because of his hectic schedule, was an event that Lily felt an unexplained feeling of emptiness to. It just wasn’t the same without the curly blond boy who taught her how to ride a bike because her father was too busy at work and Phillip had more important things to do than to teach his kid sister. Or how Tom always managed to keep the peace between her and her older brother when things got too heated. Without Tom as a buffer, Lily often struggled being in the same room with her family.

Lily sighed deeply, watching wearily at her loud obnoxious aunts who caged Tom in like animals ready to pounce and feast. She had finally moved out recently to a nice studio flat near the inner heart of the city and every time she had to step back inside her parents’ house, she felt like she was trapped. Lily always knew she was an outsider, a black sheep that nobody understood. Her father had pushed for her to get a reputable business degree but she still managed to continue her passion for photography on the side. In fact, she worked was an investment banker during normal working hours and a professional photographer after. Lily was good at her work. She was proud of it but her family never understood it. They thought of it as a silly fad that would pass soon enough and even laughed when she brought up the idea of quitting the bank to be a full time photographer.

It was another reason why her showcase was so important. Lily needed her family to see her work and take her seriously. She poured her heart into every photo taken, capturing the right moments at the right time to tell stories that could never be told with words. Just then, her Aunt Shirley, dropped her the contents of her purse, leaving Tom to bend down to pick it up. His dress pants pulled tight across his butt, leaving little to no imagination. Tipping back her flute of champagne, she gulped it down in one shot.

He had suffered enough.

“Tom, I think Phillip wants to see you.” Lily walked over to where he stood and squeezed his forearm for his attention. Her mind instantly went to dangerous territory that came with being near him. He smelled good. His lanky build had been replaced with thick muscles and the way he looked at her never failed to send shivers throughout her body. Lily was going to be in trouble if she spent any more time with him.

“Great!” Tom smiled broadly and excused himself from her aunts who tried to hold him longer with more questions and compliments about his latest work. Once they made their way back into the house where Phillip and Holly were getting ready, Tom’s smile immediately dropped. “You know you could have saved me sooner.”

“I was busy.” Lily shrugged, grabbing another flute of champagne off the tray from the passing waiter, and drank a long sip.

“You were watching me being eaten alive.” Tom grit his teeth and narrowed his gaze on her. Did his eyes linger on her mouth or was that just her being loopy from so much alcohol?

“You were fine.” Lily retorted.

“Your aunt grabbed my ass.”

“She must have been disappointed.”

“You didn’t seem so when you were staring at it earlier.” Tom pointed out, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Says someone who stared at my tits longer than my face.” Lily mimicked his stance, and raised an eyebrow. His eyes met hers and grew darker. The room suddenly felt a few degrees hotter as they properly studied each other. She had a few boyfriends growing up but nothing ever lasted long enough to get past the heavy petting stages. If she were to be honest, she probably wouldn’t have let herself take any step further. None of the guys she went out with ever stirred the unwarranted feelings inside her now than Tom.

“Hey, shit head.” Lily’s brother’s voice broke the delicate silence between them. Phillip walked into the room, dressed in his sleek black suit, and clapped a hand on Tom’s shoulder before embracing him in a hug. “I’m glad you made it or else I would have dragged your ass here no matter which country you were in.”

Tom laughed, squeezing his old mate tightly before pulling back. “I had to give my condolences to Holly for marrying your ugly face. How she holding up? She’s not still crying or trying to escape right?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Phillip rolled his eyes, his face growing somber. “I mean it. I’m glad you made it.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Tom replied, feeling his chest constrict. He hadn’t been a good friend. With his crazy lifestyle involving long extended filming schedules, he had found it extremely difficult to keep up with everyone. When he was immersed in a project, he tended to leave things by the wayside. It had gotten so bad that Tom almost forgot about the wedding if it weren’t for Lily’s email asking if he was going to have chicken or fish at the wedding. His eyes flickered to Lily who seemed fascinated by the floor.

“Lily, why don’t you go and see if Mom needs help?” Phillip asked, his voice cold to Tom’s ears.

Lily looked up immediately. Her jaw tightened and her eyes narrowed. “Sure.”

What had happened between these two? When the three of them had been in the same room together six years ago, the brother and sister duo seemed as tight as ever. But now, they appeared to be strangers.

Squeezing past the, Lily ventured back out into the backyard where everyone sat waiting for the ceremony to begin.

“Something wrong?” Tom asked, watching Lily go. Her shoulders hunched as she walked closer and closer to her mom.

“Nothing much changed.” Phillip sighed, his gaze following where Tom watched. “She’s been a brat then and a brat now. I thought she would have grown up by now after graduating from University but she’s gotten worse.”

“Come on, Phillip.” Tom laughed lightly. “What could have she done?”

“She stole from my parents, Tom.” Phillip said gravely. His face was filled with pain as he relayed the story. “Took my mum’s pearls and pawned it off for money so she could buy a new camera.”

Tom had trouble believing Lily would do such a thing. After all, this was the same Lily that had been shoved across the playground after she told her teacher which one of her classmates cheated on a test. She didn’t care about the consequences simply because she did what was fair and right. But it had been six years since he’s last seen her. Six years could change someone. It had definitely changed him.

Tom swallowed, finding a lump in his throat. “That’s awful.”

“She paid her back soon after she started her job but…” Phillip inhaled a sharp breath. “It’s hard to regain trust after something like this. I just never thought she would go to these lengths just for her silly hobby. If she needed money, she could have asked. I would have lent it to her but she went behind our backs and it’s tough…”

Tom could only nod, digesting the information that he was once again fooled by his attraction towards a woman.

**

The ceremony had ended an hour ago. Dinner was served and in proper wedding fashion, Lily had gotten borderline drunk. It was all she could do as she watched her brother and his now wife slow dance across the makeshift dance floor in the backyard. Lily had slipped inside, unnoticed like always, and watched the festivities from the kitchen window. She sipped on her glass of wine, and hummed along to the soft music playing outside.

Holly was a good woman. Lily could sense someone and tell who was genuine and sincere. Although Phillip was a news anchor, it was never Holly being the lucky one who snagged someone as famous or as wealthy as him. Lily saw the opposite. She saw Phillip being the lucky one to marry a woman like Holly who was forgiving, selfless, and extremely loving. In fact, Holly had made Phillip a better person and that was something Lily could attest to.

Something moved behind her.

Startled, Lily let out a short yip before splashing the contents in her glass across the floor.

“Tom?” She squinted at the dark figure standing a few feet from her.

“Lily.” Tom confirmed with his low crisp voice that made her brain run wild. How did he sound like when he woke up in the morning? How would he sound like if he was on top of her or when he came? Lily mentally shook her head before looking at the floor.

She grabbed some towels and threw them down to soak up the mess, watching them stain red.

“Already tired of being the center of attention?” Lily asked, cleaning up the mess as best as she could. She could only do so much as intoxicated as she was.

Tom grunted before kneeling down and helping her clean. She looked up just as he did, locking eyes.

“Why are you in here?” He asked, quietly.

She blinked, taken aback by his question. Her heart clenched as she stood up straight and went to the sink to wash her hands. “Some people don’t like big social gatherings.”

Lily said calmly, not facing him because she couldn’t trust herself with him. She felt raw and vulnerable around him with her piercing eyes that seemed to see her for who she really was. When everyone else seemed to be hearing static on a radio, Tom always seemed to find the right notch and hear her loud and clear.

“You’ve been avoiding everyone.” Tom stated, and walked right up behind her. She could lean back and fall into his safe embrace. Where was he when she needed him the most?

“There’s no proof.” Lily turned around, letting her eyes slowly run up from the middle of his chest to the base of his neck and finally to his devastatingly handsome face. She gulped.

“Lily, tell me what happened.” His voice firm, completely opposite to the fluttering of her heart. Her chest ached because Phillip had told him and now he was no longer going to be on her side. Tom probably thought the worst of her just like her family when she revealed the truth.

The truth made her laugh.

“You already know.” Lily laughed bitterly, moving away from him but only to have him grab her forearm, holding her in place.

“I want to hear it from you.” Tom spoke louder, irritation lacing his words. It made Lily sick to hear how he was speaking to her. Never once in their years of friendship did Tom use this tone of voice with her.

“I sold my mother’s pearls for an old camera so I could take photos for my portfolio.” She let the words fall out robotically. It was the same story repeated over and over again whenever someone asked why she wasn’t close with her family anymore. The people who she told were always taken aback by her bluntness and her character but what could she do?

The statement was met with silence.

She shook her arm, peeling back his fingers that gripped onto her and caressed it to her chest. She needed to leave. Her emotions were already wrung out by everyone’s judgmental stares this evening. Nobody could ever get past the idea of the groom’s little sister stealing from her own family. If she left now, she could get to the grocer’s and grab some ice cream before they closed and return home to a bubble bath where she soaked and ate ice cream by the pint.

“I don’t believe you.” Tom finally spoke. “The Lily I knew wouldn’t do that.”

“You barely spoke to me in the past six years, Tom.” Lily scoffed, fighting back tears. Damn, she really needed to go before she exploded. “I’ve changed.”

**

Lily was back at her parent’s house again. It was a week after the wedding so she thought it would be an appropriate time to go back and retrieve the last few remaining items in her bedroom. This would hopefully sever the strings attached between her and her parents. With proper planning and execution, Lily believed she could get away from seeing them except for the holidays and birthdays. Inhaling a deep breath, she braced herself for the awkward greetings but no amount of deep breathing exercises would prepare her for the sight of Tom in her parent’s house.

Lily had left after their conversation in the kitchen, refusing to look back at the house, and saying goodbye to everyone. She knew her aunts would have something to say about her rudeness but she didn’t care at that point. She needed out. Tom had not tried to contact her afterwards and for that, she was glad. Lily didn’t need the constant reminder that Tom was disappointed in her as well.

“I didn’t expect to see you here.” Lily closed the door behind her and stood from the doorway, watching him sit on the couch in the living room, watching the morning news.

“I was invited for brunch.” Tom explained, watching her closely when her face crumpled and quickly snapped back to a fake happy self.

“Right.” Lily blinked, refusing to let being uninvited to Sunday brunch dampen her moods. This was what she wanted. A clean cut from her family so she can go on and live a happy life where people never thought of her as a pest or menace. “I won’t be staying…I have some things to pick up and then I’m out of here.” She laughed breezily before running up the stairs to her bedroom.

She slowly cleared off her bookshelves, taking the photo frames off and carefully putting them in an empty box. Lily sniffled, allowing a tear slip when she saw a photo of her brother and her at the local fair. They were happy then. It was one of those rare moments in their siblings dynamic did she feel equal and appreciated. Growing up with Phillip had been hard as she was constantly in his shadow from his grades to his sports events to his family’s general appreciation for him.

When she finally packed up the last box, she started carrying them one by one to her car parked outside. The outside porch steps creaked as she climbed down and when she climbed back up, her grip on the railing slipped. It was shaky and loose. Frowning, Lily went to the garage and grabbed a hammer and some nails to fix the mess before her mom got hurt.

She was just about finished fixing the mess when Tom’s voice broke her concentration.

“For what it’s worth, I don’t believe you.” Tom said behind her.

“I can’t help you there.” Lily packed up her tools, turned and squinted up at him. “I am what they say.”

“If you were really as awful as others say, you wouldn’t fix the railing for your mom.” Tom pointed out simply. “You would have left that railing like that and not care if your mom or someone else had gotten hurt.”

Lily was gob smacked. Once again, Tom saw right through her charades. She wanted to cry into his arms, have him tell her everything will be okay, and let her have things return back to normal. But she knew nobody could be her hero.

“Got me there.” Lily admitted defeat and slowly got back to her feet. She walked back to the garage to put away the tools as Tom followed her.

“Why did you tell everyone you did it?” Tom asked urgently. “Why? Who are you trying to protect?”

“Tom, I’ve been an outsider in this family since the day I was born.” She whipped around, her eyes fierce, and voice strained with emotion. “Let’s face it, I wasn’t your friend. I was your best friend’s annoying little sister. You had to play with me or be around with me because I was part of the package deal. I’m not little anymore. I don’t need you to be here out of obligation.”

Was it really that bad? Tom thought back to their childhood days and slowly pieced together faded memories. Him and Phillip raising hell on the school playgrounds, Lily always following closely behind, and Phillip telling her to leave. It was what normal brothers do. Or how dinner time at their house went down and Phillip would always be able to share his school stories at the table but Lily’s stories were ignored or cut off by someone. Or when Lily expressed her interest in arts during school and everyone taunted her for it, telling her it was a silly dream for someone like as she had didn’t have talent. One memory burst in his memory. It was when Lily wanted to audition for a lead in the school play and her parents had laughed and told her she shouldn’t bother if she wasn’t good as Tom.

Tom had laughed along with them, taking it in as teasing but now in hindsight, he wanted to punch himself.

“You are not an obligation.” Tom gritted his teeth. “You are special to me and I care about you. I can tell, Lily. I can tell that you’re breaking so just tell me so I can help.”

Lily squeezed her eyes shut and put her hand on her forehead, willing silence in her mind. Her brain was swimming with memories and emotions, dizzying her to no end. “I lied for Holly.”

“Jesus.” Tom ran a hand through his hair. He swore. “Holly?”

“Her uncle needed to repay a loan and threatened to ruin her relationship with Phillip if she didn’t give him money.” Lily spoke quietly but firmly. She wrung her hands and sobbed. She had no clue what to do when the pearls went missing and Holly came crying to her, asking for advice. Holly was so afraid of losing everything with Phillip, it broke Lily’s heart. So she protected Holly by lying. This was for the greater good, she had thought. She didn’t feel like she was part of the family already so what harm would it have done if she lied for Holly?

Only she didn’t know it would hurt so much worse.

“You let everyone think the worse of you because of Holly?” Tom began pacing, clearly agitated and frustrated. He could punch a wall. He wanted to scream for the injustice.

“If you can’t beat them, join them.” Lily shrugged, and laughed sadly before wiping her tears away. Thrown back from the embrace of his hug, she stumbled little before he righted their balance. Tom hugged her tightly as if he was trying to hold it all together for her.

“You have not changed one bit.” Tom muttered, pressing his lips to the top of forehead and inhaling the sweetness of her fruity perfume she wore all throughout her teenage years. He pulled back and looked her in the eyes. “You are still a bloody idiot.”

Before Lily could have a chance to retort, Tom pressed his mouth on hers. His body felt alive as he finally did the one thing he wanted to do all along. Deeply relieved that his premonition was right and that Lily was nothing like the deceitful women he met in his life, he slowly it himself fall for her.  He wasn’t sure but somewhere between remembering their earlier days together, her growing up to the woman she was today, and watching her go to great lengths to save her family, he found himself in love. His heart thumped against his chest as he deepened the kiss, savoring the softness of her lips, the short sighs escaping her mouth, and the feeling of her body melting into his. She was all he needed. And she was right there in front of him all along.

Lily felt like she was in one of her dreams. More specifically the dreams she had when she was a teenager and when she had a secret crush on Tom. The dreams had always ended up with a kiss from him. She would never admit this to anyone but when she watched him kiss his costars in movies, she often wondered how it would feel like. She imagined it to be great but definitely not this good. Inching up her tippy toes, she gained better access to his mouth. Her breasts rubbed against his solid chest, aching to be touched. She wanted him. She needed him.

“What the fuck!” Phillip’s voice roared. Her body slammed against the garage door before she was able to right herself. For a second all she saw were two bodies wrestling on the grass. They tossed and turned, Phillip, at one point straddling Tom, and throwing a punch right to his nose. A sickening crunch made Lily shrill hysterically. Undeterred, Tom grabbed Phillip’s shirt and tossed his body like a rag doll off of him. He rolled on top of him and was ready to beat the shit out of the man who was supposed to protect his little’s sister and instead turned his back on her without hearing her side first when Holly ran out of the house and got between them.

“Stop it!” Holly yelled, separating them with her hands. “Stop it right now!”

Tom exhaled a deep breath and dropped Phillips shirt, and backed away. His eyes landed on Lily who was cradling her arm close to her chest and clearly in shock.

Phillip slowly rose up from the floor and looked at Tom like trash on the street. “You’re really out here trying to fuck my little sister?”

Tom shook his head, ready to explain himself and his feelings when Lily cut in.

“It was me.” Lily said, looking at Phillip. “I kissed him first.”

Phillip looked back at Tom for confirmation but Tom was flabbergasted by Lily’s lie. Frozen solid, Tom blinked in confusion at Lily when she spoke again.

“It didn’t mean anything though.” Lily smiled, shaking her head. “I just wanted to kiss a movie star and I did it.” She shrugged and looked at Tom. “It was good but I’ve had better kisses.”

Tom didn’t meet her smile. His stomach had fell when she saw the fake Lily take over the one he loved. The one who acted like what everyone thought of her and pretended like she had no feelings or regards for others. It was complete bullshit. No one kissed him back like that unless they felt something. And what they shared during the kiss was everything. He wanted to vomit. This was all going entirely wrong and there was nothing he could do to get her back. It wasn’t his secret to tell because he knew if he did, it would ruin all of their lives.

“I guess I’ll go now.” Lily moved away from the crowd, still holding onto her arm. Tom could see her shoulders folding in, the way she did when she was holding in a sob.

“Wait!” Holly cried, her big eyes glistening with unshed tears. All eyes focused on her as she looked to the floor. “I have something to confess, Phillip. I’ve been carrying this guilt ever since a month ago when all this started.” She gestured with her hand, the space between him and his little sister.

“It’s my fault.” Holly said quietly. “I’m the one that ruined your relationship with Lily.”

“What?” Phillip breathed. “Darling, I don’t understand.”

“My uncle.” She hiccupped, silent tears falling down her cheeks. Phillip tensed at the mention of him, inching closer towards Holly. “He needed to pay back a loan.”

Lily watched at his brother squeezed his eyes tightly, digesting the news. He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down his throat. “Did he hurt you?”

“No.” Holly cried. “He wanted me to give him money or else he would do everything in his favor to ruin our engagement. I couldn’t, Phillip. I couldn’t. I didn’t have the money and I became desperate so that’s why I took your mom’s pearls. I was going to earn back the money and buy it back but she found out.” She paused, shaking her head. “I confided in Lily but I didn’t expect her to cover for me like the way she did. She didn’t steal the pearls for a camera, Phillip. She never did. It was me.”

Phillip watched his wife cry as she hugged herself tightly. He didn’t know what to do or how he should feel. As his gaze left his wife and slowly went to his little sister, his heart squeezed tightly.

“Lily…” He said, not knowing where to begin. “I’m the worst brother.”

Lily inhaled a sharp breath.  She was crying just as much as Holly now. “You’re not.”

“I am.” Phillip shook his head. “I’ll never be able to forgive myself for how I treated you and I can never apologize enough. I’m so sorry.”

He reached for her, stopping halfway, unsure about his actions. Lily met him halfway and walked into his arms, hugging her older brother tightly. Burying her face in his chest, she squeezed tighter, crying for all the times she wanted her brother to protect her and letting go of the past.

When Phillip pulled away from Lily, he looked at Tom. “I may not have been a good brother back then but this shit changes now. If you fucking break her heart, I’ll break you.”

Tom grunted. “No need for the threats. I will never hurt her.”

Phillip nodded and released Lily to attend to his wife. He grabbed his hand and murmured into her ear, leading them back into the house where they could have some privacy.

“Let me see your arm.” Tom demanded, rushing to Lily’s side. He gently inspected it, noticing the slight bruising but nothing too serious to raise alarm. “You’re going to need ice.”

He frowned when she winced.

“So much for never hurting me.” Lily teased and yelped when he pulled her into his embrace, careful not to hurt her more.

“Are you always going to be this sassy?” Tom pressed his forehead against hers, allowing his heartbeat to go down from the adrenaline rush.

“Yes.” She quipped, kissing him softly on his mouth.

“I thought I was going to lose you.” He confessed quietly, his chest constricting at the mere thought. Lily was the only constant in his life that grounded her at this point. He couldn’t imagine days without her.

“It broke me more than I thought it would.” Lily stroked the side of his face with her index finger, studying his facial features.

“Promise to always work things out instead of running away?” Tom kissed her mouth softly.

Above them all, looking high over the deck and watching the organized chaos was Captain Richard Bark, one of the most feared and renowned pirates in the Caribbean. With his merciless fleet and his guns, said by rumor to tear through your very soul until the God Almighty couldn’t recognize you, he was a force to be reckoned with.

His long dark beard held beads and feathers from exotic lands; his clothes, once made of the finest silk in the Atlantic, now stained and torn from a bloody good fight; the scars and wrinkles on his sunburnt face gave him twenty years to his appearance and the stories behind each scar even about thirty more. He looked down over his crew, spotting two of his most prized possessions in his fleet.

Thomas of London, a young pup when Captain Bark got to him, now a young man shouted for assistance on the deck as he pulled with all his strength against a rope, pulling the guns from the gunnery. Captain Bark watched as from the distance, far from his fading eyesight, a merchant ship came over the horizon, flying the red, white and blue stripes of the French.

Thomas in his young age managed to impress the captain, gladly handing the title of Quartermaster to the man at the age of twenty-five. He’d only gotten better in his duties over the past two years; one day he would be able to run his own fleet, and Captain Bark would only be too proud to hand him the reins.

Assisting Thomas was Captain Bark’s own pride and joy, a treasure worth more than all the gold in the America’s, Evangeline Bark, the Captain’s daughter. She had inherited her father’s black mess of hair, keeping it hidden under the guise of a tri-corn hat, and his firey temper. Captain Bark had learned of his daughter only a six years earlier, at Port Maria in the Caribbean sea.

After a hearty round of drinks at his favorite tavern, a wench that he’d previously been sweet with told him of his blood. She washed the tables of the seedy bar, at the age of fifteen already knowing how to deal with the drunken, disorderly men in the pub. She’d impressed him in a single night after she threw the man out of the tavern, breaking his arm and leaving him crying in the streets. To honor his bloodline, he offered the young woman a chance to be a stowaway, leaving behind the tavern for a life of adventure; she was only too happy to join the life of pirates.

Becoming a criminal and leaving behind her old life of hand-sy drunks, she came aboard the ship, dressing down into trousers and her tri-corn hat; she hid her gender from the others on the ship. It was bad luck to have a woman on board; especially for the woman herself as the long nights at sea can made even the most saintly man turn to sin. The only people on the ship who had known of Evangeline’s sex (Evan, to the rest of the crew) were the Captain and Thomas, both of who elected to keep her secret.

Evan grabbed the rope beside Thomas, pulling with her weight as well as they pulled out the heavy cannons. The winds were on their side as they gained speed against the crashing waves; a crew member lifting a ‘commandeered’ French flag to gain the opposing fleet’s trust as she pulled up closer to the ship.

Thomas and Evan stepped away from the edge of the ship, sharing a quick smile as the adrenaline began to rush through both of them. Thomas looked down at Evan, being a good foot taller than the girl as he began to laugh.

“It’s been a while, are you sure you you’ll be able to handle it?”

The young woman looked up at him, smirking through her smile as she pulled her rapier from the sheath.

“I could say the same for you. You haven’t seen battle since Tortuga, and I believed I saved you that time.” “It was an off day, it won’t happen again.” “’Off-day’? When did you turn into such a girl?” He looked back to the ship. “About the same time you did, Mary.”

She bit the inside of her cheek, short of drawing blood at his quip. “Just see if you can keep up, Tommy.”

The fleet had gotten rather close, all of the men on board looking for the queue to start the fire and bloodshed. With a wave of his hand, Thomas signaled the crewmember to raise the black flag, replacing the French colors with the dark symbol of a skull and cross bones. The French couldn’t have seen it coming.

With a mighty battle cry, the crewmembers, armed with swords and blunderbusses jumped on the spare ropes, swinging over to the opposing ship as the smell of burning gunpowder filled the salt sea air. Thomas and Evan both swung over to the French ship, holding their body weight over the ocean below before landing on the hard wood of the deck.

Thomas pulled a gunpowder pistol from his breast pocket before firing at an approaching Frenchman. The man fell down dead as a plank was quickly put across the two ships.

Evan swung her sword about the deck, dueling one inept man after another as Thomas looked for the captain of the ship, leaving Evan to what she knew best. Blocking, striking, and slashing her way, she battled two men until their bodies laid on the ground in pools of their own blood.

She wiped sweat from her brow as she spotted another man retreating to the captain’s quarters, silently slipping from the scene as if no one had spotted him.

Evan shouted over the loud sounds of gunfire as Thomas, who had almost begun his plunge into the undercarriage “Quarters!” as she pointed with the tip of her bloody sword to the door. The pair both ran to the ornate door, surely something the captain paid a lot for, before they began to beat on the locked door.

Thomas began ramming his shoulder against the decorated wooden door before using his foot, slowly busting down the door in splinters until it popped off its hinges.

Thomas and Evan moved quickly into the Captain’s quarters, finding the French commodore cowering at his bedside, the intense look of fear on his features.

Thomas grabbed the man by the collar, pulling him to his feet with a look of disgust. “If you can’t fight with your crew like a man, you deserve to die like a dog.” He growled at the man before pulling him from the ‘safety’ of his chamber.

Evan followed Thomas out the door as the French crew men stopped fighting, all eyes on the sight of their captain with tears down his face and gunpowder pistol to his head.

 They all paused, watching in fear as Captain Bark crossed to the ship, his heavy boots drawing his own crews attention and the French’s look of fear. He stepped down from the banister, looking over the crew as if they were specs of sand on his shoulder before he looked to the sorry excuse for a captain.

“Are you the captain of this ship?” He said, uttering his first words of the day at high noon. The Frenchman nodded his head, his eyes darting toward Thomas and the barrel of his pistol that was pressed firmly to his head. Captain Bark smirked at his admission before looking to his Quartermaster, Thomas.

“We found him cowering in his chambers, Captain. He refused to join his men in battle.” Thomas said through his teeth, disgusted by the man that chose to still call himself ‘captain’.

“Didn’t feel like dying today, did you, boy?” Captain Bark said to his crew, getting laugh from his demented men. “You call yourself a sailor…” “Ma conscience est clair, pirate. Pouvez-vous en dire autant?.” The Frenchman said, a look of confusion filled the English speaking crew as they looked to each other for a quick translation. Captain Bark pulled a gun from his coat, pointing the end of the double-barreled blunderbuss at the man’s chest, causing Thomas to move out from behind the ‘Captain’. “On your knees, boy.”

Thomas forced the man on his knees, kneeling before Captain Bark with a defiant scowl across his face. The Frenchman raised his head high, almost proud to die at the hands of this pirate.

“Any final words?” Captain Bark asked, giving a nob to Evan as she placed the edge of her sword against the throat of the coward. Bark put his gun away, feeling that the sensation of cold steel might be more preferable to the hot bullet coursing through his body on such a-summer’s day.

The French Captain looked at his crew, all of which were filled with fear and sorrow before he looked ot the heavens. “I greet God with a smile.”

“Make sure you save the same courtesy for the devil.” Captain Bark said just before Evan’s sword slashed through the captain’s pale neck, spraying blood over the deck and his previous captures.

With their captain laying on the ground, still kicking as he slowly bled out on the deck, Captain Bark turned towards the crew.

“Which of you believes that he can sail with a pirate?” He said, his recruiting style needing a little bit of work as the crew looked completely confused at his English.They all stared at each other in silently questioning, waiting for a man among them to pop up with the translation. Evan sheathed her rapier and turned to the confused crew.

“Lequel d'entre vous veut vivre?” She shouted over top of their confused mutters, pulling the attention back to herself from both the French and her own crew members.

A confused few raised their hands, the rest kept their hands down and her noses high in the air, believing they were too good to sail with these criminals.

“Mister Johnathan, take the men to the brig” the Captain called, pulling a man from his own crew that was covered from head to toe in French blood. “Mister Thomas, you will handle the others.” “And the ship, sir?” Thomas asked, placing his hand behind his back respectfully. A glimmer flashed in Captain Bark’s eyes as he said, “Send it to God.”

---

Johnathan put the men who had raised their hands in the brig of Bark’s ship, leaving the clean up to Thomas and Even, and a handful of useful men as they quickly emptied the cargo hold, relieving it of the exotic spices, tobacco, and food one box at a time.

Thomas and Evan quickly got to work of the crew, giving them exactly what they deserved and what was expected of them they put the remaining crew members on a dingy and set them out to sea.

Watching the ‘sailors’ navigate the rough waters of the Atlantic was more than enough entertainment for Evan and Thomas as they watched them fight with the waves as they crashed, sending the dingy spinning in the wrong direction on more than one occasion. Evan laughed, covering her mouth at the sight as the dingy spun around once more, about to run into the ship.

“How did they ever become sailors?” Thomas asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Evan giggled, shaking her head. “I haven’t the foggiest.” “They have to be the worst I’ve ever seen.” “I guess the French are a little short on proper sailors, they’ve started taking bakers and jewelers now.” She laughed. “I imagine a baker would be put to good use on a ship.” “What, bake you a cake after a particularly nasty battle?” “If he felt the need. I wouldn’t mind a sweet here and there.” Thomas said as started laughing, running his hands through his messy hair as the sun seemed to be setting on the day.

Placing a hand on Evan’s back, he nodded towards their ship beside the French Vessel. Two crewmembers, both loyal in their actions, crossed the plank, both holding onto buckets of a strong odor-ed accelerant and torches.

“I think we need to leave now.”

---

It was a pleasure to burn. The French vessel went up like a candle, the orange warmth of the smoldering fire illuminating the ocean in a warning that could be seen for miles. It burned for hours, scorching into the early morning hours the men who had caught it aflame still celebrated, trying to outlast the flames.

On the ship, the crew, armed with a fresh supply of tobacco and rum, dancing around the deck, singing sea shanties and drinking until they could remember the words. Any day that didn’t end with the sea burial of a crew member and friend was a good day.

Evan danced with a respected crew member, Jonathan; swinging wildly around as they locked arms. She laughed a hearty laugh from the back of her throat as Jonathan threw her around for the third consecutive time.

Thomas had laid out in front of barrels of gunpowder, watching the pair closely as they danced around. His eyes had darkened at the sight of Jonathan’s hands around her waist and arms and shoulders, having mentally claimed those years ago when they were just children. He picked at his fingers, a nervous tick he had when he something wasn’t going his way.

He wanted to be the person to wrap his arms around Evangeline, being able to touch her without the painful shocks of admiration coarse through his body, to speak with her on clear terms without having to watch his tongue for slipups; to have more than the quips and gentle jokes between them.

The shanty the crew had been singing came to a stop, and the crew applauded themselves and the looney dancers as they took a bow. Jonathan grabbed Evan’s hand a little too tightly and for too long for Thomas’s liking before they separated. Evan made her way beside Thomas, giggling behind her hand as he feared she might have blown her cover.

She pulled a bottle of confiscated rum from behind the barrels, and began to drink from the amber bottle. Maybe that would help her; maybe Thomas could explain that she was just drunk, explaining why she giggled when she did, and why she asked so feminine. He didn’t want to hide her gender from the rest of the crew, but for her own safety he did, keeping this secret from the men that had saved his life on many occasions.

“Evan, my boy!” An elder man by the name of Benjamin called out, getting Evan’s attention away from the bottle. “Where did you learn French like that?” “Yeah, I’d been meaning to ask.” Thomas piped up, looking over at the young woman as she pulled her smiling lips from the amber bottle.

“There are these things on land, I’m sure you’ve heard of them, called books?” She said, waving her arms around like a drunk. “They are wonderful little inventions-“ “No, but you know how to speak it. You can’t get t’at from a book.”

She smiled, placing the bottle between her stretched out legs as she leaned against the barrel. She crossed her arms over her bound chest, Thomas could see the yellowing bandage from beyond her bloody peasant shirt.

“Back when I was on Port Maria. Me mom, she owned a tavern right on the port-“ “Sounds like we have a place to stay when we get Port Maria, boys!” Ben laughed, getting a roar from the already drunk crewmembers. She laughed briefly, rubbing her chin in nervousness as she decided which part of the story to tell.

“Anyway, she owned a tavern and a bunch of French sailors would come in. They’d start talkin’, and flirtin’, and soon after I’d get pretty chummy with them. For a week straight these boys came in wantin' a pint, and after about half of it, they’d begin tellin’ me about France and Paris and their adventures. I’d keep the conversation goin’ until they’d tell me how to say certain words in French, full sentences, and even taught me a couple card games.” “Card games?” “You know what else you can do with a drunken Frenchman after two in the mornin’?”

“I can t’ink of a couple t’ings.” A faceless voice piped up from the back, causing a roaring laugh from the drunken idiots. Evan smiled briefly before grabbing Thomas’s arm, pulling his attention instantly.

“I’m gonna go to bed.” She told him, standing on her own two feet before waving goodnight to the rest of the crew.

He knew that this was going to hurt. There was no other way for this to end, his infatuation with the Captain’s daughter could only end in the bloodshed and pain. She would both reject his advances and tell her father, at which point Thomas would lose everything that held dearest to him; or she could return the favor, keeping a secret affair for as long as they could until the day that one of them perishes, the worst of all of the outcomes.

No, he’d have to stay quiet about this. Maybe he could convince himself that it was just a silly crush; one of which that had been haunting his dreams since she said her first words to him about six years ago. She talked with him, a quiet boy keeping his head down to avoid being thrown overboard; she trusted him with her secret, and he wanted nothing more than to repay her every way imaginable for her companionship.

Maybe one of these days he’d have to courage to tell her exactly what effect she had on his thinking pattern when she smiled, how when she spoke his breath caught in the back of his throat, what exactly her simple gaze did on his poor heart.

He watched her disappear into the sleeping quarters, wanting nothing more than to simply kiss her goodnight. But he’d have to be strong, resist the urges he’d done so well at repressing. She was the captain’s daughter, and he needed to keep his distance.

“Do you believe in soulmates?” Tom asked as they lounge on her small sofa. Her little apartment was quiet, save for the music drifting through the open window from someone else’s home. 

Her neighbor was listening to Save Ferris. It made Vicky smile.

She took several moments before replying to Tom. “Yes and no…maybe.” 

They had been eating ice cream, trying to cool down from the California heat, debating on whether or not they should extricate themselves from her sofa and go down to the pool. From there the conversation somehow went to fish, to mermaids, to fairytales, and now true love and soulmates.

Tom’s head was resting on the back of her sofa; he lazily turned it toward her. “That is not an answer.”

Sighing, she went to take another scoop of her ice cream only to find the bowl empty. She put the bowl on the coffee table and sank back into her seat. “I have a theory.”

He grinned. “I love your theories.”

She looked at him and rolled her eyes before fixing her eyes on the wall across her. She always did better explaining her theories if she wasn't actually looking at her audience, especially if that audience was Tom.

Throwing her hands out in front of her she began with, “You know how there are people – friends – family that you get along better with than you do others.” She chanced looking at him as she brought her hands back in. He just nodded for her to continue, giving her a little nudge with his knee. She resumed looking back out at the wall before her. “Like how most people typically have one parent they get along better with than the other. Or how you have that one friend, who is your best friend, because you two just get along so well? I think soulmates are kind of like that.”

He let out a short laugh, “So then you don’t believe in soulmates.” 

“No. I mean I yes, I mean…ugh, my brain and mouth do not work together.” Nervously and without thought she picked up his hand that was next to her on the sofa and pulled his hand into her lap where she began to play with his long digits. “I mean I think there are certain levels of soulmates, if that makes any sense. I think that there are people out there that we’re all compatible with on various levels.” She was now running her fingers between his, not truly twining them together but not fully pulling her hand away.

“What I am trying to say is that…Think of it like prizes or a race. Your ultimate soulmate, who is seemingly your other half of your soul, is the first place prize. You have to work extra hard to find them, I think, but once you find them you can keep the spoils. Then there are the second and third place prizes.” 

Tom looked down and their hands. She had stopped running her fingers between his and was had began to what massage his hand, gently rubbing her thumbs across his palm. He looked up from them to Vicky’s face. She was still looking at the wall.

“Second and third prizes shouldn't be scoffed at though. They’re just as nice. Granted, they aren't your first place prize, your gold medal, so you might think, every once in a while, what if and that can cause problems if you think of it too much. You’ll start look for that elusive gold medal, which I am convinced is very hard to find, otherwise people would be claiming to have met their soulmate more so then they do now.” 

“What about those people who seem to end up with the wrong people. That never seemed compatible in the first place?” Tom asked, trying not to be distracted by her as she began to massage his fingers. 

She laughed, “There are always going to be those people that think can’t even enter the race and settle for whoever is just standing around in the crowd watching or wants the popcorn more then the prize. And there are booby-prizes out there, and the participation ribbons to be given out.” Vicky laughed and stopped massaging his fingers to sandwich his hand between both of hers. “Does that make any sense because I feel like it does but you know me.” 

Tom opened his mouth to reply but became distracted when her thumb started to rub his thumbnail as if were a worry stone. For some reason it struck a cord with him. He supposed if anyone else was to do this he would find them odd. Vicky’s action however only made him feel, for lack of a better term, comforted. 

“I lost you didn’t I?” Vicky asked, her voice drawing his eyes away from their hands. She was still rubbing his thumbnail. Her dark brown eyes were trained on him now.

He shook his head. “No, sorry, I understand what you were saying.” Tom smirked at her, “Surprisingly enough.” 

“Hey!” Vicky cried and pulled her hand away from his. Despite the heat they were wallowing in it felt like someone had dipped his hand in ice water. “Not funny Thomas.” 

“Oh, you know I love it when you call me by my full name.” He gave her his best bedroom eyes while trying to fight the smile that wanted to escape. 

Vicky rolled eyes as she stood up to gather their ice cream bowls. “You, control yourself.” She pointed an accusatory finger at him and went to the kitchen to deposit the bowls in the sink. 

When she came back and sat down next to him he pulled her to his side. “And if I don’t behave,” he said as he leaned in so his lips were nearly touching her ear, “how will you punish me?” 

Vicky seemed ready for this as she sighed dramatically and turn to look at him. “I will make you do the Cymbeline dance while you sing your lines, of course, in your underwear and tape it. Then I’ll give it to Kat and she can give it to your cast mates.” She gave him her best Cheshire Cat grin. “I am sure that Natalie Portman and your girlfriend will love to see that.” 

“You are a wicked woman Miss Victoria Diaz.”