Just One Look

Well I was sitting waiting wishing

You believed in superstitions

Then maybe you'd see the signs

Jack Johnson, Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

Lock was trying his best to pay attention to Mrs. Gene, but somehow it wasn't working. He knew that Experience of Halloween ( his elective) wasn't a very important class but he still didn't fancy failing anything senior year. Right now they were getting a lecture on why the Graveyards of London would be the best to use if you were going to travel into England from Halloween Town. But all that ran through Lock's mind was…well I'm sure you know what, or more specifically who.

Lock, Shock, and Barrel were all in this class together, but for some odd reason Shock was not there in the second period class. He knew she had stayed behind this morning because she had a free first period and she needed to finish a project but where the hell was she?

"Dude, chill, I'm sure she just like got help up with the Boo-Glue. Get's all over the place, you know…" Barrel whispered, as if he could read Lock's mind.

"Whatever." He shot, his brow furling. He clawed at his hair as he always did when he was nervous and soon his fiery red tresses were falling into his face all over. He knew Barrel had a point (yeah for once) and he did have a tendency to worry about Shock (like the Gym incident three weeks before) but where was she? She could have been hurt or attacked or kidnapped or-

"Excooth me Missus Gene?" A tiny freshman was sticking her overly large head into the room, round glasses taking up most of her circular face. She kinda looked like Barrel when he was little.

The teacher acknowledged her. "I wusth sthent here to get Lock and Barrel…the printhepal told me to gather them…" Her lisp was incredibly annoying but Lock and Barrel's heads shot up into attention anyway.

"Very well you two are excused…" The two all but flew out of the room, barely hanging onto their books. Maybe for once Lock had been right. As they rushed past the secretary and into the princepal's office he addressed them, "Sit down boys." They obeyed his solemn look and grew more worried. "I'm afraid I have some rather grim news…"

"Is it Shock?"

"What happened"

"Quiet!"

"Yessir…"

"It does have something to do with Shock yes, but nothing particularly fatal has happened. I'm going to need you two to come with me and Mr. Skellington down to your…er…tree-house home…"

So they went. It was the longest five minute drive of Lock's life (both of them). The trees seemed more intimidating with their branches looking more and more bare. The leaves swept around the carriage and as the tree house came into faint view there was something very foreboding about all those cars around it. There was something different about it…somehow it looked like the shape had changed…

"Oh shit…" Lock muttered to himself as they stopped in front. Where the kitchen used to be there was a gigantic, harshly cut hold in the floor, and there was a large scatter of boards and planks of wood on the ground below it. Their kitchen island was broken and in pieces as well as it sat among the twigs and leaves in the dirt.

The car door swung open and the four stepped out. "What the hell…"

"The floor caved in while Shock was in the kitchen…did you know the condition of your home? It seems that the wood it was made of has been rotting away for years now. Your lucky that it hadn't happened earlier…"

Lock blinked. Barrel stared at Lock. Barrel slowly pivoted and faced his principal again. "So you mean, the floor fell out from under Shock?" He nodded. "And…"

"Where. Is. She." Lock growled irately. If she was hurt….he didn't know exactly what he would do. But he knew it would not be pretty. The principal said nothing. Jack just took both the boys shoulders and started leading them to an ambulance. Lock was almost afraid to look inside. He did anyway.

In side, sitting on a bench and having her wrist and hand taped, was Shock. Looking a tad bit disheveled but fine all the same. She was smiling and talking to the man wrapping her hand. She looked up as Barrel walked over and bent down to give her a quick hug. "You alright?" He asked her.

She laughed. "Yeah Barrel I'm fine. Just a few small injuries…" He tilted his head to the side expectantly. "Well when the floor caved in and I was falling I tried to grab onto anything I could…so I ended up grabbing where the floor had broken off…so that got me a few splinters…" Barrel oooh-ed and nodded. He leaned in and whispered something in her ear. She giggled and asked, "Where is he?" He stepped to the side to reveal Lock peering around the side of the vehicle.

Pushing his red hair back from his face he stepped into the ambulance and walked up to her. By this time her wrists and hands were finished with their taping, so she stood, though he still towered over her. All of a sudden, Lock grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug. She stiffened at first but then relaxed, falling into him and wrapping her arms around him too. She chuckled a little, Barrel had left moments before. "What's with all this…?" She murmured into his chest.

"You worry me too much."

She laughed again. "Maybe you just worry too much."

"Maybe."

XXX

There room's had been cleared out. None of them had much of anything so it only took a few hours, though they still understand what was going to happen next.

Jack had told them that their home was commanding new construction, and that the town would pay for this, but where would they stay in the meantime? The nearest hotel was in South Halloween Town and that was an entirely different district…

The tall skeleton man sat down in front of the three where they were chatting over what they thought they had missed that day in school. They halted once he had come over though, watching him expectantly. "So I'm guess your three want to know what's going on exactly. Well with your residential status…"They nodded, silent for once, which was a comforting and new thing for the Pumpkin King. "Well, the mayor and myself have been debating and we've decided that you three will have to stay with me for the next two months of school, at which time you'll be able to return home… My mansion is plenty big enough, and as long as your fine with living with Sally, along with my three kids and my niece… Actually I believe that my niece is your age….you know Ava?"

"Oh do we ever…"Shock said bitterly before she could stop herself.

"Yes…she really is a pain in the ass isn't she…" Jack said, holding his chin and shaking his head a little. He looked up again. "Anyway, I hope this is okay with you…"

"Yeah!"

"Oh yeah!"

"It's nice, thank you…"Shock smiled trying to cover up for her comrades rudeness. She knew they were excited to live in the biggest, fanciest mansion in all of Halloween town and its five districts (central,east,west,north,south), and so was she, but they could at least be grateful…

"Alright, we'll have your rooms by tonight…Come around the mansion about 6 and we'll get you settled in by dinner. You've got a few hours so you might want to get your things from school or maybe go visit a friend…you can stay here but we'll be pretty busy…" With that he bid them goodbye for then and walked away, immediately swarmed by movers and workers.

Shock was the first to rise. "I'm going to visit Iz, kay?"

"But…"

"She'll be as worried as you were Lock, this is probably all over the school already…" She sighed. "Anything that's secret is public knowledge by first period lunch, you know that. Izzy's my best friend and I'm going to see her now, okay? I'll see you tonight…" She kissed his cheek and walked off, her boots gathering dust as she disappeared down the road.

XXX
A/N: I know it's not much and there wasn't any full or anything but….well things have been cramped. I've been banned from the computer for 3 months so I've only have access to one at my cousins…and that wasn't for very long…

I'm actually putting my other story on temporary hold until this is done. I'm seeing 10 chapters probably…it's a short fic, and that's if we get lucky… On request I could end with a lemon (how cliché) but that's only on request… You guys will be getting more updates soon…but exams are after break so we'll see what we can do… Thanks again so much to the reviewers! I love you all!

Review it out bitches.