Jack Sparrow and the seven avatars.

Chapter seven: He thinks himself better than us

Jack's breathing fell in fast pants as he stared into Lur's blue eyes, waiting for him to speak, for him to help him. Why does his heart believe that this boy, who acts like he doesn't care for much, would be able to bring him salvation? Jack feels an attraction to the taciturn boy, and he doesn't understand why. Was it because of Lucien? Yes, the boy bears a striking resemblance to the boy who helped him out at the game shop, the boy with smiling eyes, but their personalities differ like night and day.

Follow my breathing.

Jack nodded and did as Lur instructed. His eyes moved to the rhythmic rise of Lur's chest wall, and he did his best to pattern his breathing to it. Everything else in the room disappeared and became just the two of them.

Like a slowing down of rainfall, his breathing started normalizing, and he could feel the air entering his starved lungs. He didn't look away, nor did Lur; even when he could breathe normally, he kept his eyes on the gorgeous blue eyes before him. They reminded Jack of the ocean, just like Lucien's, but they lacked the warmth he saw in Lucien's eyes.

"Mmh hmm," Someone cleared their throat, breaking the staring contest.

Jack blushed and looked away from Lur. "Thank you," he muttered shyly.

"You are welcome," Lur answered and returned to his position.

"We are so dead," Zen mumbled, but not low enough. Jack heard his words and blushed harder. "I am sorry, guys." He felt the need to apologize for freaking out on them again. They must have thought him spineless, but all these were just too much for his mind.

"You have nothing to apologize for. We understand you don't want to be an avatar, but why did you volunteer?"

Jack turned to look at Varah in shock. "Wait! Did you guys volunteer for this?" He looked at everyone around him like they were crazy. Let's say he believed everything they just said. Who in their right mind would volunteer for such a dangerous mission?

They all shrugged. "It beats staying back on earth and doing nothing. Also, we are not the first batch," Varah added.

"What!"

"I believe we are the hundredth. The ninety-nine before us all perished."

Jack's eyes doubled in size as he stared at the blonde in horror. Does she mean what he thinks she meant? That they could die here?

"Please don't tell me you are about to have another panic attack," Zen commented, his tone mocking again.

Jack tried to refute his words, but the idea that he could lose his life on this freak show paralyzed him, and he couldn't say a word. He felt a hand touch his and flinched. He then relaxed when he realized whose hand was in his.

The warmth of his hand calmed Jack's fear. He turned to look at the blonde, but he was staring at the fire, his expression blank. It looked as if he wasn't aware of where his hand was, though Jack doubted it.

"I am not freaking out," he admits bravely to Zen, shooting the guy an irritated look. The guy is always on his case.

"Could have fooled me," Zen smirked.

Jack ignored him and asked, "What are your names? And where are you from?" Jack looked curiously around the group.

"Varah, I am from California," Varah winked at Jack.

Jack blushed; he could see the girl was from California. She had the sunshine personality of Californians.

Jack took his gaze from her to the guy sitting next to her. Unfortunately, that was Zen.

"I am Zen, and I am from Canada."

Jack nodded. That was why he could hear the accent in the boy's tone. He moved on to the dark boy.

"Tokorah, and I am from Africa."

Jack nodded. Tokorah had an accent, too, even though his English was good.

It was Straw Hat's turn to speak. "Narashi, I am Japanese."

"Do you ever remove the hat, or is it attached to your head?" Jack looked curiously at the boy. His mind had been trying to figure out the mystery behind the straw hat. At first, he thought the boy wore it because of the sun, but they were inside, and it was still attached to his head.

The whole group laughed at his words, even though he hadn't intended it as a joke. He even heard a low-pitched chuckle from the boy beside him, reminding him of the hand still on his. Jack blushed and then slowly withdrew his hand. The boy turned to look at him, but Jack ignored him to focus on Narashi.

Jack hoped his words had not angered the boy. No, he didn't, as the boy had a look of amusement on his face. "No, the hat is not attached to my head," Narashi answered with a smile, and then he took off the hat.

Jack smiled when he finally saw his face. The boy was not ugly, as he had initially assumed. On the contrary, he was good-looking, in a rough way. Like Lur, Narashi had his hair up in a ponytail, and a red scar ran across his right cheek, which added spice to his good looks.

"You are handsome," Jack commented, staring at the boy.

Narashi blushed before responding. "What did you think before?" With an arched brow.

"No comment," Jack smiled back and then turned his eyes to Miss Purple. The girl was gorgeous. Jack's heart skipped a beat as he looked at her.

Without looking up from the ground, Karline answered. "Karline and I are from Cuba."

Jack nodded. The girl did have Latino features.

When Jack turned his attention to the blonde boy beside him, his racing heart increased. Silence met his curious gaze, and he turned to look at the others with interest, his eyes asking questions.

"Lur doesn't talk about himself," Tokorah answers the question in Jack's eyes.

"Oh." Jack turned to the blonde. "Why?" He stared at him curiously.

"I am going to sleep," Lur said, getting to his feet and walking off to a corner of the room without answering Jack's question.

Lur's snub stung Jack's heart, but he shrugged it off and tried to look as if he didn't care. He failed to hide his hurt feelings, as the others saw them. "Don't take it personally; Lur is like that with everyone," Tokorah told him kindly.

Zen sneered. "He thinks of himself above everyone else here." From Zen's contemptuous look, Jack could see that he didn't care much for Lur.

Jack didn't know how to interpret Lur's personality. He would have agreed with Zen if not for how Lur helped him when he was having a panic attack and then his touch when he was about to freak out again. All he could say was that the blonde boy was a mystery, and the feelings he evoked inside him were confusing.

"I think we should all turn in. Tomorrow, we can figure out where to go next from the clue Varah found," Karline said, looking at the others.

Jack looked towards Varah for an explanation. He was lost.

I found a small chest box underneath the tree I pulled you in earlier.

Jack nodded even though her words did not explain his confusion. Maybe he would understand better in the morning or return to bed. The latter, he preferred.

They stood to their feet, about to walk away from the fire, when Tokorah spoke. "Kurma is dead, and he is Kurma's replacement. Does that mean that he is our leader?" Tokorah looked towards Jack.