Listen.
I know it's been like a year but I've been living in like a void. I work right in the middle of the day so I have no life outside of work so really for me it's only been like three months which is still a long time but come on
Jack was sitting alone in one of the dressing stalls of the tent. The curtains did little to muffle the sounds of the other performers getting ready. It was considered quite rude to stay in the dressing stalls any longer than absolutely necessary; costume changes needed to be taken care of quickly and there wasn't a lot of extra room. Still, Jack did not emerge. It was Friday night, and in very little time he would be performing in his first VIP Freak Show. His gut clenched nervously at the thought. All he wanted was a few minutes to himself to prepare.
He hadn't had much alone time since he'd run away. In fact, more often than not, there was someone else using the bathroom car at the same time as him. He was very used to being alone most of the time, and while the company was welcome, he wished for more time to himself, particularly now that there was so much on his mind.
The police had begun trying to contact him on his phone. Every time his phone rang with the number from the Burgess police station, his heart started pounding and his hands would shake, and he would begin to feel nauseous. He kept thinking he should just answer it and get it over with. He would have to sooner or later. But he always came up with an excuse; not while Emily's in the room, not during rehearsal, not while they're eating.
Pitch seemed to be avoiding him, as well. He only ever saw him just before and during the shows, before he would slink off somewhere unknown, return after Jack went to bed and leave again before they woke up. The others were wonderful, of course, but they were so happy and pleasant all the time, sometimes Jack felt like he couldn't be real with them. He felt that with Pitch, he could talk about more serious stuff and get serious help instead of just the warmth and encouragement he got from the others. Which was great, of course, but he needed more than that.
"Jack!" Tooth shouted through the curtain. "Come on, it's time!"
Jack took a deep breath before exiting the curtain. When he got out to the ring, he noticed that there were four men and one woman in the VIP box. Emily was absent, apparently having taken Jack's advice and gone to sit with the new friends she had made this week. His smile was forced as he saw several children that had come again as well as many new ones. It was more crowded with it being the last day and a Friday at that. After exiting the ring, rather than heading back to the train, the seven of them stayed behind for the VIP show.
"Nervous?" Tooth asked.
Jack nodded, not trusting his voice. He was more nervous now than he ever was before.
"Try not to worry about it, mate," Bunny said encouragingly, patting him on the shoulder. "It's only about half an hour, anyway."
Jack returned his smile with uncertainty before getting in line and heading out once again into the ring, almost forgetting for a moment to do the starburst and the snowflakes. He felt a little sick listening to Mr. Moon inviting the five guests to examine them, especially as he told them to pay special attention to Jack, their newest member, and that this was his first VIP show.
He tried to hold still as one of the men and the woman looked him over. Next to him he heard a man asking Bunny how fast he could run and how high he could jump. Jack stared straight ahead, not sure if he was meant to acknowledge their presence or not, since they hadn't spoken to him yet.
A low yet loud growl to his right startled him, and he looked over, expecting to see the men bugging Pitch. One of the men was looking at him, but Pitch's glare was focused on the people in front of Jack. Jack looked at Bunny, who had also noticed this strange behavior, but looked just as confused as Jack felt.
"Let me see your staff," the man asked suddenly, startling Jack again. Suddenly, Jack felt very protective of his staff, and held it to his chest for a moment, reluctant to hand it over. The man was clearly not impressed, and reached out to take it from him. This made Pitch growl louder, tensing up in warning. Mr. Moon ignored Pitch's outburst.
"Give him your staff, Jack," he ordered sternly. Jack reluctantly placed the staff into the man's outstretched hand.
As soon as the man touched it, Pitch roared ferociously and pounced on him like a cat with its prey, knocking him several feet away and making him drop the staff. Pitch was crouching over his victim, holding his abdomen down with one enormous hand/paw, and his jaw tightly gripping the man's shoulder.
It seemed the only thing that kept Pitch from biting down and tearing into the man's flesh was Mr. Moon, who had shouted to Pitch and was now holding out his hand as if to stop him, which seemed to be working. Pitch was frozen over the squirming man, and for a moment everyone just stared in shock.
"Let him go," Mr. Moon ordered. Pitch responded with an insistent growl, though he did not release his captive. Mr. Moon opened his mouth to say more, but Jack interrupted him.
"Pitch, please, don't hurt him!"
He hadn't really meant to say anything, not even hoping it might work, but Pitch dropped the terrified man. Before leaping off him, he let out a short roar in his face, as if insulting him. Pitch came to prowl around behind Jack, unconcerned with the argument that then broke out.
"I thought you said the creatures were under your control," one of the men scoffed furiously to Mr. Moon as the other man and the woman assisted Pitch's trembling victim to his feet.
"What are you trying to do, kill us?" the woman added with venom.
"I'm terribly sorry," Mr. Moon attempted to calm them, "I have a little trouble with the monster sometimes-"
"You should keep that thing on a leash!"
Jack tried to ignore the outraged patrons and started gently patting Pitch's head to calm him, although he seemed unconcerned with them now and was pushing a little pebble around with his gigantic paw and enjoying Jack's attentions.
He really is like a giant cat like this, Jack thought curiously. Suddenly remembering the others, he looked up to see them staring at him with mixed expressions. While North, Phil, and Bunny stared at him in utter shock, Tooth looked slightly worried, but Sandy looked almost . . . pleased. He smiled encouragingly at Jack for a moment, until Mr. Moon suddenly ushered everyone out of the tent, everyone except Pitch.
They hurried back to the train in varied states of shock. Jack glanced back at the tent where Pitch and Mr. Moon had stayed. "What do you think is going to happen to him? He won't get in trouble, will he?"
"I'm sure he will," Tooth answered, darting around the group restlessly. "Mr. Moon is hardest on him, always has been."
"Forget about him," Bunny hissed. "What about you? You don't think you're going to get away with that, do you?"
"Me?" Jack scoffed. "I didn't do anything!"
"You overstepped Mr. Moon," North explained, "in front of the VIP audience, no less. He must be very angry with you."
"But I didn't mean to overstep him or anything! I just didn't want Pitch to hurt that guy! . . . What will he do to me? He won't throw me out, will he?" Jack began thinking of Emily, having to take her back to Burgess and to the police, as well as taking her from her new friends, and in a moment of panic, he thought of how hard it would be on himself to lose what he considered his new family.
"Don't worry, Jack," Tooth said comfortingly, putting a motherly arm around him. "I'm sure he wouldn't do that. Mr. Moon is harsh, but he's not cruel."
"Not to mention, you're incredibly valuable to the show," Bunny muttered, receiving a glare from Tooth.
"There's no point in worrying about that now," she insisted. "Just try to get some sleep and deal with it in the morning."
Easier said than done, Jack thought bitterly as they climbed one by one back onto the train. Emily had fallen asleep on the couch with the fairies with the TV on, so Jack turned it off while Tooth delicately gathered up her girls and Phil gently lifted Emily into his arms to take her to her bed. Jack curled up in his bed and laid awake for hours, stewing over the events of the past week until he finally fell into a dreamless sleep.
The next morning, Jack had almost forgotten the events of last night, and started getting ready for the day. Just as he was remembering what happened, and beginning to wonder what happened to Pitch, Bunny entered the train car and told Jack that Mr. Moon wanted to see him.
Jack felt as though a wave of doom had washed over him, and he looked around at the others, expecting to see his worries reflected in their eyes, but they smiled supportively at him.
Nick clapped him jovially on the back. "Relax, Jack. The worst that he'd do is give you a lecture and make you tend one of the game booths for a while, maybe do some extra work when we pack up and head to the next town." He relaxed a little, comforted that the others weren't too concerned, and went off to Mr. Moon's car.
Rapping gently on the door, Jack held his breath, nervousness returning, mostly just because he didn't know what Mr. Moon would say or do. A soft breath of air startled him and he looked to the side of the train car, where Pitch, still in his monster form, was tethered in the shadows and gazing at him calmly. The door in front of him opened before Jack could approach him, however, and Mr. Moon invited him inside.
He hadn't been in there since that first night, and for a moment he could barely believe it had only been a week. This was his life now. Mr. Moon sat down at his desk and Jack sat across from him, waiting for the lecture to start.
"So, Jack, how are you adjusting to the business?" he asked pleasantly.
A little taken aback, Jack wasn't sure how to answer at first. "Oh, I-I love it! I mean, I've made so many friends, and I love doing the shows and everything . . ."
Mr. Moon nodded. "And, Pitch Black. You two are . . . close?"
Jack raised his eyebrows. "Cl-close? I-I don't know what you mean, we just, we're just kind of friends, I haven't even talked to him that much."
"I see. Well, whatever the case may be, he certainly responds well to you. You see, in all the years I've been working with Mr. Pitchner, I've never quite been able to tame him in his monster form the way I'd like to."
Jack nodded slowly, unsure yet where this is going.
"I have a proposition, if you're amenable. You see, in addition to doing the freak show and setting up, some of the other freaks have other duties, like Pitch's Nightmare booth, and Mr. North's toys. I'd like you to help me train the monster."
" . . . uh, that . . . I don't know. That seems kind of mean, to Pitch I mean. Like he's an animal."
"While he's in that form, he is an animal. If you need further incentive, I would be willing to assist you in your legal troubles."
Jack's eyes widened. "You know about that?"
"I know everything. I also happen to have a few connections. You want legal custody of your sister, right? It may take a few months, and there is a possibility of a mandatory court appearance, but you wouldn't have to worry about it anymore."
Such a promise seemed too good to be true, and Jack felt guilty at the thought of treating Pitch like a pet. "Could you really do that?"
"I can, and I'd like to help you, but I need your help in return. What do you say?"
"Alright, I will."