There's always a happy ending for a Corpse Bride.
Well, my laptop was a pain in the butt when I uploaded the last chapter. First, it underlines everything. Second, it doesn't save the changes I made to it! So, if you spot any, uh, wrong parts, then I apologize.
I don't own anything except my OC's. Is anyone else getting sick of writing that?
Chapter 4
Emily strolled along the side of the frozen river. She called out, but no one answered her.
"Hello?" Emily shouted. "Is anyone there?"
In the distance, she spotted a figure.
"Bonejangles?"
The skeleton turned to her. It was indeed Bonejangles. "Hey, babe."
Emily raised her eyebrow. "What did you just call me?" She asked, a bright blush spreading across her cheeks.
"You heard me."
The moon shone above them, illuminating the scene.
Bonejangles held out his hand. "Care to dance?"
Emily looked nervously at him. She had danced with him before, but only during a performance. He acting differently now; no longer shy. And Emily liked it. "But," She began.
"But?"
"But there's no music playing."
Bonejangles didn't react. Then he raised his other hand and clicked his fingers. The song they were playing two days ago started up. Bonejangles seemed to smile. "How 'bout now?"
Emily smiled and slipped her hand into his.
Bonejangles' smile became mischievous as he pulled her towards him; making her body very close to his. He began to twirl her around; starting a waltz.
Emily felt so free while dancing with him; like she was living all over again.
Bonejangles dipped her, making sure to hold her tightly. He didn't want to spoil the moment by dropping her. He straightened himself, bringing her back up.
Bonejangles suddenly stopped.
Emily looked disappointed. "What's wrong?"
Bonejangles looked at her up and down. "Just never really noticed how beautiful you are in the moonlight."
Emily's jaw dropped for a slight second before closing and changing into a smile.
With another click of his fingers, Bonejangles conjured up a black rose; the thorns had been cut off. He held it gently between his index finger and thumb, holding it out to her.
Emily reached out to take it from him, but he didn't allow her. Instead, he pinned the flower into her hair.
Emily looked up at him.
Bonejangles then looked at her again. "Perfect. Beautiful."
Before Emily could respond, Bonejangles tightened his grip on her waist; holding her against him. Using his finger, he tilted her chin up. Then began to lean towards her.
And she let him. Emily's blush deepened in colour as Bonejangles got closer and closer and then they-
Emily woke up. She glanced around her quickly, checking if the forest and her friend were still there. But no, all she saw was her bedroom. Emily laid a hand on her chest. A part of her had hoped it was real, another part of her didn't. What was wrong with her? They had almost kissed and she couldn't stop thinking about it. Of course, then again, anyone would be like that after almost kissing their best friend. Emily shook her head, trying to get rid of the drowsiness.
Thoughts of Bonejangles swept through her mind. Why was she dreaming about him? She didn't usually dream about him. Ok, maybe she did… once or twice…maybe three times…
Emily sighed. What were these dreams implying? Emily couldn't take it anymore. She swung her leg over the side of the coffin bed and then did the same with her other leg. Emily gripped her dress thoughtfully before standing and walking towards the wooden door of her home.
Emily walked along the cobblestone roads, pondering about her feelings.
She suddenly heard humming and footsteps coming towards her. "Hey there, Em!"
Only one person called her Em. Emily looked up.
Bonejangles stood in front of her, flipping a coin in his hand. "Good mornin'."
"Um…Good morning…Bonejangles…" Emily said, finding it hard to say his name. Her cheeks suddenly turned a bright red.
Bonejangles tilted his head, making his eye roll to the other socket, and put the coin in the ribbon of his hat. "You alright?"
"Yes…why?"
"You're cheeks 'ave gone all red." He answered, pointing at her.
Emily quickly covered her cheeks with her hands, hiding their new colour.
Bonejangles took her wrists gently and lowered them to inspect the colour of her cheeks. "Yep, they've gone red alright. You feelin' ok?"
"Fine."
"You're not sick, are ya? Come 'ere." He pressed his hand against her forehead, checking her temperature. All he felt was the coldness of a corpse. "Well, you're as cold as usual."
Bonejangles gripped her hands and held them closer to his ribcage. "Em, are ya sure ya alright?" He asked, the concern evident in his voice.
He cares about me, Emily thought to herself. He's worried about me.
"Em?"
Emily snapped back to reality. "Sorry?"
"I was askin' if you were alright."
Emily paused. He was gripping her hands tightly, letting her know that he was worried. "I-I'm fine, Bonejangles."
Bonejangles didn't buy it. He shook his head. "Great," He said without enthusiasm. "Now you're stuttering! This cannot be good!" He let go of her and walked behind her. He began pushing her towards the pub.
"Bonejangles! What're you doing?" Emily asked, turning her head to look at him.
"Helping you. You're unwell, Em, and I'm gonna take care of ya."
When they arrived at the Ball and Socket, Bonejangles kicked open the front doors and took Emily by the hand. Dragging her up the stairs, Bonejangles was muttering something along the lines of: "You can stay in my room until ya better."
BJ opened his bedroom door and led the way to his bed. He sat Emily down and stood in front of her. "There. You stay here, Em. I'll bring up some soup later."
Before Emily could protest, Bonejangles strolled out.
Emily sighed and clutched Bonejangles' blanket. "Doesn't he know corpses can't get sick?" She asked no one in particular. But she laid down anyway, her head on his pillow. She pulled his blanket up to her chest. His bed was so much softer then hers. The cushions were plumper and more comfortable. Emily's eye lids suddenly felt heavy. She then decided to take a little nap.
Bonejangles strolled into the kitchen. The heat and smells of the freshly cooked food hit him like a ton of bricks. "Hey, Miss P."
The cook turned to him, irritated that she had been interrupted while cooking. She glared at him.
Bonejangles ignored her glare. "Do you know any good soup recipes?"
Miss Plum raised her eyebrow at the skeleton. "Why?"
"Emily's sick. She's upstairs in my room." Bonejangles replied.
Oliver sighed and put his book down on the table. "Big Brother, you're a fool."
"What? Why?"
"Corpses cannot get sick, Big Brother! That's what breathers are for!"
Bonejangles paused. "Oh…"
"Yes, oh." Oliver mumbled, picking up his book and resuming his reading.
"B-But! When I talked to 'er, her cheeks went all red! And she began stuttering! That's not Emily behaviour!" Bonejangles protested.
"Maybe she just has a problem about something." Oliver muttered, licking his finger before turning the page. "Like admitting her feelings towards you…" He added more quietly so his brother wouldn't hear him.
"Problems? It's not my fault is it?" Bonejangles asked. He was starting to panic.
"Maybe."
Bonejangles seemed to pout. He stared at the floor. He didn't mean to hurt her. He didn't know what he had done but he still didn't mean to hurt her.
Miss Plum held a bowl of soup out in front of the skeleton. BJ looked at her. "Here. Give her this."
Bonejangles took it in both hands. "Can I say I made it?"
"Fine."
"Thanks." He quickly ran out.
Oliver looked up. "Do you think they'll ever get together?"
"Maybe. But that would mean Bonejangles would have to stop being such an idiot." Miss Plum chuckled. "He's such a twit."
"Yes, I know. I'm related to him."
Bonejangles hummed a jazzy tune while ascending the stairs, holding the bowl in front of him. Once he reached the top of the stairs, he opened his bedroom door. "Hey, Em, I-"
He paused when he noticed the corpse bride was asleep. Bonejangles was puzzled. Emily had just woken up, and she went back to sleep? Didn't she get enough sleep last night? The truth was, she didn't. No, dreams of Bonejangles had stopped her. Not that he knew that.
BJ strolled over to her and perched the bowl of soup on the bedside table. He looked down at her. Emily was like a sleeping angel. Bonejangles could imagine those ghostly white wings open on her back.
Bonejangles shook his head to get rid of the fantasy. He sat down next to her and stared at his feet for a while. His gaze went back to her. Without thinking, he placed his hand on her cheek, stroking it softly with one finger.
Emily suddenly put her hand on top of his, making him jump. She held it against her cheek. "Bonejangles…" She whispered in her sleep, somehow recognising who the bony hand belonged to.
Emily's eye lids were now light. She opened them slowly, forgetting she was now in Bonejangles' bedroom. Emily yawned and sat up. Her eyes went to the skeleton seated beside her. "Bonejangles!" She exclaimed. "What're you doing in my bedroom?"
"Uh…Em, this is my bedroom."
Emily's eyes widened and she glanced around. She noticed that the jazz guitar in the corner wasn't hers. "Oh…"
"Are you alright now, Em?"
"I- Excuse me?"
"You were sick, Em."
Emily smiled at his stupidity. "No, Bonejangles, I wasn't."
"But your cheeks were all red, and you were stuttering!"
Emily looked at her lap. "Well…um…" She couldn't come up with an explanation.
"Well, anyway, I made d'ya some soup."
Emily looked up as Bonejangles held the bowl out in front of her. "I know you ain't sick- well, now I do- but I thought, why let it go to waste?"
Emily gave him a rewarding smile and took the bowl from him. "Mmm. It smells delicious." Emily took the steel spoon with one hand and scooped up some soup. She held it to her mouth and took a sip. "Mmm!"
"Is it…ok?" Bonejangles asked.
"It's lovely! Thank you Bonejangles!"
Bonejangles scratched the back of his skull, embarrassed. He was just glad she didn't find out Miss Plum had made it.
"Miss Plum did a good job, didn't she?" Emily smiled slyly at him.
"Alright. You caught me." Bonejangles sighed, defeated.
Emily giggled at Bonejangles look of defeat. She placed her head on his shoulder.
Bonejangles looked down at her.
Emily felt so…relaxed to say the least. She closed her eyes and just smiled contently. She suddenly felt two bony arms wrap themselves around her. She opened her eyes and looked up to Bonejangles. "What're you doing?"
"Well, you were leaning on my shoulder so I thought you wanted a hug." He replied then slowly, and hesitantly, released her.
Emily looked at him for a moment before placing the bowl back on the bedside table. She turned back to her skeleton companion and flung her arms around him.
Bonejangles paused. Today, he felt a strange boost of confidence. Maybe today could be the day he would ask her to be his date. It's not like he planned to wait this long to ask her. After having a crush on her ever since he could remember, he would've thought it could've been easier. He wrapped his arms around her again. He was about to whisper his question to her when-
"Oh God! I'm interruptin' somethin'!"
Bonejangles and Emily released each other and turned to the voice.
Jums stood leaning in the doorway. Bonejangles' skeletal band mate shook his head. "Try an' control ya selves, please!"
"We were huggin'!" Bonejangles exclaimed.
"That's what they all say, Jangles, that's what they all say."
"Get downstairs, ya perv!"
"Fine, fine. I'll leave you two alone then! Get back to ya naughty!" With that said, Jums sprinted downstairs.
"But we weren't-" Bonejangles paused in mid-sentence once he realised his friend was gone. "If he gossips, I'll kill 'im!"
Emily giggled. "I think you're forgetting that he's already dead."
"Yeah, well…I'll scatter his bones!" Bonejangles crossed his arms over his ribcage.
Emily smiled at him. Jums had done that more then once. One time, they just shook hands and Jums had excused them of 'loosing control of themselves', causing Emily to blush. But she knew he was only doing it to annoy his band leader, so she didn't yell at him.
"Excuse me." She heard Bonejangles mutter irritably. He stomped out of the room.
Emily sighed. Why did Jums have to come in at that moment?
Jums sprinted across the room, hearing Bonejangles running down the stairs. "Jums!"
Oliver ran out of the kitchen fast enough to catch his brother, who was just about to pounce on his band mate.
"Jums!" Bonejangles shouted. "You embarrassed me in front of Emily…again!" He struggled, trying to get himself out of Oliver's arms.
"Brother! Please try to calm down!"
"No! I'll kill 'im!"
"He's already dead!"
"You know what I mean!"
Oliver kept hold of the squirming Bonejangles.
Emily descended the stairs, soup bowl in her hands. She paused when she saw the event. Oliver held Bonejangles back while Jums just watched him carelessly.
She wandered down the rest of the stairs and walked up to the eldest Skeleton brother. Carefully dodging his flailing arms, she kissed him on the cheek bone and whispered a thank you in his imaginary ear. Immediately, Bonejangles' arms fell to his sides.
Oliver released his older brother.
Emily wore a smile as she entered the kitchen to dispose of the empty bowl.
Bonejangles simply stood there, his body feeling numb.
"Oooohhh!" Jums and Oliver chimed in.
Bonejangles came back to reality. "Oh, shut up!"
"Come on, Big Brother, you know you enjoyed it!" Oliver told him, shrugging and grinning.
Jums was in the background, making kissing noises.
"And you both say you're more mature then me…" Bonejangles muttered as he entered the kitchen, leaving behind an laughing Oliver and Jums.
Later that night, the pub was wild with corpses. Bonejangles' band were playing jazzy tunes while their band leader took a break.
Emily was having a chat with some of her friends.
Oliver took his shift at the bar. Ever since he had arrived in the Land of the Dead, Oliver had helped out at his brother's pub; even though he didn't drink alcohol himself. After seeing his brother drunk, Oliver detested drinking the stuff.
Needless to say, all of the customers liked the new bartender. They would always sit at the bar, talking to the youngest Skeleton brother.
Oliver was currently cleaning a used wine glass while listening to his brother announce the next song. Remains of the Day. He saw Emily run up to join Bonejangles and smiled.
As usual, in one of the verses, Bonejangles and Emily danced together. It was then, at the end of the song, that there was trouble…
So she made a vow, lying under that tree,
That she'd wait for her true love to come set her free!
Always waitin' for someone to ask for her hand,
Bonejangles sang. It was then he remembered. He still hadn't changed the lyrics! He glanced at the corpse bride. Emily's face was full of sadness and pain.
No. He didn't want this. It wasn't supposed to be this way. I have to do somethin'! He thought to himself. I have to…
Then out of the blue, comes this groovy young man!
Bonejangles jumped into the circle of corpses surrounding them and took Emily gently by the hands, beginning to turn in a circle.
Emily looked at him then smiled sweetly.
Who vows forever, to be by her side!
And that's the story,
Bonejangles stopped turning and pulled the blushing bride towards him, his arm draped around her shoulders.
Of our Corpse Bride!
He dipped her when he was supposed to fall into the crowd. Emily looked up at him.
After the last note, they got back up. Bonejangles turned to leave.
Stupid! What were ya doin', BoneJ? He thought to himself.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. Bonejangles faced Emily.
"Em, I know. You're angry. I'm sorry." He said quickly, trying to get it over with.
Emily ignored him and threw her arms around his bony neck tightly, burying her face in his shoulder. "Thank you, Bonejangles."
Bonejangles just stood there. He slowly put his arms around her waist. "It's alright, Em. I jus' didn't want ya to be sad."
After staying in this position for a few moments, they released each other. Emily planted another gentle kiss on his cheekbone before heading towards the doors.
Bonejangles stared at the doors for a few seconds before sighing and listening to the encores of his fans.
Emily lay awake in bed, the music from the Ball and Socket still audible in her ears.
What Bonejangles had done was unexpected. But she enjoyed it none of the less. Emily sighed.
"I'm in love with Bonejangles Skeleton."
Author's note:
I think this went pretty well! I've this idea stuck in my head for ages now! So, it was a relief to be able to finish this chapter. Hope ya like the immature moment with Oliver and Jums! I realise this chapter is a bit confusing. One moment he's a doctor, the next he's singing. But bare with me. Yeah…that's all folks!