A/N:
Hey everyone! Double updates? I know XD Basically, I forgot that this chapter, when I drafted it, ended up being so long that I had to split it up into a Part 1 and Part 2. And I really wanted to post both of them at once so…there we go ^_^ After this, updates will just be one at a time, every two weeks, but for now I hope you like this extra long dose of Jack and Sally. There's a lot of fluffiness here…but like the chapter title says, it's leading to some drama in the next update. Please review! Thank you all!
Dearest Friends
Chapter 11:
The Private Calm Before the Public Storm, Part 1
Jack sighed deeply, scratching his skull and looking down at the sewing machine before him on living room floor with an eyebrow raised. "I'm sorry, Sally, I just can't figure it out. Every time it seems like we've gotten all of the parts together and that everything should work, we try to turn your sewing machine on, and some little nut or bolt or cog is missing. It's very strange…"
Jack looked up to Sally (who was sitting across from him on the rug, legs curled beneath her), going on. "I thought I'd bought every little piece we could need, but perhaps I forgot something or a few little somethings. I really am sorry, Sally, I know how much this means to you." He sighed once more, looking back to the sewing machine. "It also might just be me. Mechanical things have never been my strong point, I suppose. I didn't mean to disappoint you." Jack looked back to her with a frown.
"Jack, you don't have to be sorry," Sally replied with an understanding smile. She moved closer to him on the floor, glancing at the coffee table strewn with a few spare parts and the floor where the sewing machine sat, and then looking back to Jack again. "I know the sewing machine has a lot of parts and that it's a complicated thing to put together. I'm just so happy you went to the trouble of gathering everything and putting in the effort to try and make it work for me. But I think for today maybe we should just put it away and try again fresh in the morning. I'm sure we'll get it up and running after a night to sleep on it."
Sally tried to smile reassuringly at Jack as she finished this reply…though she was quite convinced her grin must look a little guilty. And she did feel rather guilty…considering the few bolts and cogs currently secretly tucked into a pocket of her dress. Indeed, while Jack had been tinkering away with the machine's gears, she had sort of been 'borrowing' a little piece here and there so that no attempt of his to start the machine could work. She knew it was wrong and not very nice, but she was so desperate to keep him here and away from the town hall for the rest of the day that she hadn't been able to help herself. But now, however, Sally just couldn't keep up the charade anymore—she couldn't bear the look of defeat and melancholy on Jack's face each time he tried to make the sewing machine work and failed. She would find some other way to distract him for the rest of the day, and then tomorrow she would pop all of the extra pieces back into the machine and let it work and give Jack every ounce of the credit for all of his effort. "I-I'm sure it'll work tomorrow, Jack," Sally added with a small shrug, "I have a very good feeling about that."
Jack smiled softly and nodded. "Okay, Sally. Thank you. And who knows, maybe it really will all come together in the morning light." Sally was probably right, he had probably just been at this too long. And come to think of it, it was getting rather late in the afternoon now. "Sally," Jack started to get up off the floor, "if we won't work on this until tomorrow, then I hope you won't mind if I pop by town hall now to check in with the Mayor and set up some time to work on the plans for next Halloween. I really really should…"
"Oh, but Jack!" Sally all but squeaked, grabbing his arm and keeping him from standing, her eyes very wide. "I…mmm…"she bit her lip and then managed with a smile, "…y-you were so nice to build this for me and get all the parts, you deserve a rest. I could make us an early dinner to thank you! You just rest on the couch, and I'll make us a nice meal, and then maybe we can, um…talk…" She gulped. 'I'd rather tell him about the Doctor right here and now without any time to prepare for it than have him go to town hall and hear it from there first.'
Jack just blinked and looked down at Sally curiously. "Sally," he smiled warmly, "I appreciate your concern, and I am a little tired, but sometimes I just have to take care of certain things. I'm the leader, and frankly I've made enough of a mess of our holiday lately by making a mess of Christmas. And now I've had a few days to recover and to think about what I've done and what I need to do…and of course I've had the pleasure of your company for those days." He leaned a little closer to her. "So it's time for me to fulfill my duties, just for a little while at least. When I come back though perhaps we can do something together tonight." Jack swallowed and looked down with a wobbly smile. "If you're not too tired by then, that date we planned out together earlier might be nice—a moonlit rowboat ride out onto the lake." He chuckled, his voice deepening slightly into a richer tone whether or not he realized it, and his eyes hazing a little. "I'm afraid there are quite a few monsters in the lake that come out at night, but I'd be more than happy to frighten them off for you."
Even despite the strength of her desperation and her worry over of the Doctor, Sally was completely overwhelmed for the moment by Jack's sudden sweetness and romantic tone. Not to mention, when his voice sunk lower like that…well, the only thing that made her quiver inside more was when he sang. To have him scare creatures just for her, to be alone with him in a little boat under the moonlight…to have him smile and understand everything and still care for her. Sally knew he was a good man, she knew he might find the circumstances of her life strange but that in time he could overlook them, she knew he wouldn't send her away…
But then there was a new question to consider—would Jack forgive her for technically lying to him like she was now? Keeping secrets, tricking him into staying with her, misleading him with topics of conversation… 'That's how I used to handle the Doctor…before I just started outright poisoning him.' Sally's eyes went very wide, and she snapped out of her romantic fluster. "Jack…" she moved closer to him, "Yes, I would love a date like that tonight. And I completely understand about you wanting and needing to plan Halloween with the Mayor now. I just, um…" 'Tell him. It'll be okay…' "I just…" she bit her lip…but she just couldn't reveal everything this suddenly though. Luckily, a viable idea for keeping him here a bit longer suddenly stumbled out of her mouth. "H-Halloween plans. I mean, um…" she swallowed, going on, "Jack, if you don't want to it's fine, but…I know that before, you said you wouldn't mind if I came with you to town to look at the plans you and the Mayor would start making. And I think I'd actually like to do that some time soon. But first, don't you think it might be nice to have something already planned out to bring to the Mayor so that you two can get right to work organizing this year's parade?" Her smile softened into its normal look.
Jack considered and then nodded with a smile. "Yes…actually, that might be helpful. It might even make the Mayor feel more at ease, knowing we didn't have to start completely from scratch with this year's celebration."
Sally smiled more. "Exactly. So, before you go to Town Hall, if you really do want my input on Halloween, and only if you wouldn't mind…I could help you do some Halloween planning here right now that you could maybe present to the Mayor first thing tomorrow morning." Sally swallowed—yes, this was her last desperate plan to get Jack to stick around here, but also to be honest she wouldn't have minded the chance at something like directly contributing to Halloween planning. But she didn't want to push him about it at all—her guilt from her other actions was too great for that at this point. Sally looked down a little. "Unless you're not comfortable with that of course. I know this is your job and that planning Halloween is a very big thing, and I don't really have any experience. But I just wanted to help if I could. And you were so nice trying to put together the sewing machine for me that it's the least I could do."
A response didn't meet her ears at first. Sally looked up hesitantly. "Jack?"
He was just looking at her with his skull tilted to the side and wide eye sockets suggesting some surprise.
"Jack…?" Sally tried again softly, feeling nervous now.
"Oh!" Jack blinked, snapping out of it. "I'm sorry, Sally. I just didn't expect…" and then he smiled so widely and so happily, "You'd like to help actually plan Halloween with me? Side by side? Together? Really?" He smiled more, sitting back down completely now on the floor, positively beaming. "I'd love it, Sally, if you really would like to help so much. You're so clever, I'm sure we could come up with something wonderful for the holiday! I think the experience of planning together would be thrilling actually."
Sally smiled and nearly blushed a little. "Oh, well…you're much more experienced than I am of course, Jack, but, yes, I'd love to help you put some things together and to see how the planning works and how you think of things. You come up with some very creative ideas each year, Jack." 'He called me clever again…and this time I can actually enjoy it.' Sally swooned a little inside and did her best to hold back a giggle.
Jack grinned with an adorable touch of pride, looking down modestly. "Oh, well I don't know about 'very creative', but I do try. I'm glad you've enjoyed your Halloweens so far."
Sally nodded, smiling sincerely. "Of course I have, Jack. The parade is always nice, and you certainly put on quite a show yourself…Our man, Jack, who's King of the Pumpkin Patch…" She sang the last few words and winked and giggled now. She knew Jack had an ego—oh he tried to hide it, tried to be very humble, and he really was a selfless person, but he had an ego nonetheless. And she had to figure that he adored the words in the song about him and adored, despite any laments about the holiday, dancing around on wooden horseback and dressing up like a scarecrow and getting set on fire and doing that triple backflip in to the fountain only to rise up from it at the end to the applause of everyone around. He had been the same way with Christmas, looking all proud in his Santa suit and grinning on a platform above the town while the Mayor sang his praises. And she found that ego a very cute trait of his to tease him about all of a sudden.
Jack blinked and looked down very humbly and then stood up from the floor, dusting off his pants and taking a step back from her. "O-Oh, yes, well I…I'm just such a central figure that I try to make sure everyone has something to enjoy in my performance. The song was my idea—you don't think I've been too flashy with it all these years, do you?" He glanced to her hesitantly as he held out a hand to help her up.
Sally just smiled more and shook her head as she took his hand to stand. "Oh no, not at all. Everyone likes it, the song and the performance and you at the center. It's all wonderful each year. And you're such a good dancer and singer too of course." She dusted off her skirt and took a step closer to him.
Jack smiled a lot and still tried to look down (though she could tell from the grin on his skull that was enjoying this). "Well, I have been known to carry a tune in my day. And dancing, well…I like dancing and moving. I've always been very energetic, I suppose."
"It's mesmerizing when you perform each year…" Sally couldn't help but remark, her hands clasped in front of herself. "I wish I could dance like that, Jack."
Jack swallowed, looking up and smiling more at her shy posture. "I'm sure you must dance just…divinely, Sally."
Sally shook her head, bringing her eyes to his again. "No. My balance has never been very good. I even wobble sometimes when I walk. I could never dance like you, Jack." She looked down a touch shyly once more, digging the toe of her shoe lightly into the floor, only to fall off balance a little and need to take a step forward to steady herself. She smiled sheepishly and shrugged at him. "See?"
Jack's smile only grew. "I could dance with you, sometime, to help teach you if you'd like. I would never let you fall, Sally."
Sally's eyes went wide and her smile beamed a little. "Really, Jack?"
Jack nodded. "Yes, Sally, really. I would love to dance with you, my dearest friend, whenever you're ready. You have my word."
Sally felt all of her leaves flutter inside. Then she approached him with a small, playful smirk. "I'd love that very much, Jack. But for now, let's work on the Halloween planning first. We've spent almost the whole day doing things about me—you made me breakfast, brought me flowers, tried to build my sewing machine. Now it's time to be responsible, like you said, and to focus on something that's important to you." Sally then proceeded to clear away the sewing machine and all of its spare parts into its box which she set aside beside the sofa, leaving them with a clear, clean space on the coffee table.
Jack smiled more and nodded. "Very well, my darling." He chuckled, fluffing the pillows on the sofa and heading over to a desk to grab some paper and pens and other design tools. "I can see you're going to be a very focused holiday planner. That's an excellent match for me. I'm afraid I tend to get distracted very easily. I think they Mayor will be grateful you've saved him some of the trouble this year of trying to rope me in."
"Oh, you're just enthusiastic, Jack," Sally assured, taking a seat on one end of the sofa. "All of the ideas you come up with give you more ideas for other things—there's nothing wrong with that at all."
Jack returned and laid out the supplies, then took a seat on the sofa beside her. "Thank you, Sally. And yes, well, speaking of ideas…if you have any ideas you'd like to suggest regarding your own role in the festivities this year, I'd love to hear them." He smiled more. " After all, we'll have some extra space in the song now since Oogie's not around anymore, and your 'wind blowing through hair' part that I assigned you does come right before where his was, so you could easily extend into the gap. And besides, your part has always been a little small…" He frowned a little. "I'm sorry, Sally, I only assigned you something so simple originally because you always seemed so shy, so I thought you wouldn't want to do anything big or flashy…and you do have the prettiest hair in town, so of course I—"
Jack was silenced by Sally placing a single fingertip over his lips with a smile. "Jack, that was the part I wanted, that was the part I got. It was subtle and suited me, and I was just grateful that you cared enough to help me find a part to play." Then she smiled a little more and added, "Did you really give it to me partly because you like my hair so much?" Her finger moved away from his lips and her hands came to play with the strands of her hair a little.
Jack blinked and then smiled a touch bashfully and gave a little nod. "I'm happy you've liked the part. And yes…" his eye sockets drifted to the delicate yarn strands. "After all, if anyone's got hair perfect for the wind to blow though, it's you."
Sally practically smiled ear to ear and then she giggled and smirked. "Oh Jack…I bet you say things like that to all the girls who kiss you on top of a hill."
Instantly, Jack blinked and blanched quite a bit. "Wh-What? No, I don't ever say anything like that to any girls ever except for you! I swear, I—" And then he realized… "Oh, um…that was a joke. Heh…" He swallowed, looking down a little with a shrug. "Sorry, I didn't mean to get carried away."
Sally giggled lightly. "It's all right, Jack. It was cute. Besides, it's nice to know for a fact that I'm the only girl you ever kissed on a hill top."
There was silence for a moment. Then Jack spoke quietly and very sincerely, looking down the whole time. "You're the only girl I've kissed…ever."
Sally blinked at the response, but just as she thought to catch his eye sockets and ask him about it, Jack was suddenly standing and shuffling toward the kitchen, clearing his throat. "Yes, well…erm…if we're going to start on that Halloween planning, I'll get some candles. The light's getting a little dim in here." And with that he was gone from the room.
Sally watched him head off, and then she turned back around and thought to herself very deeply.
She had not been around for Jack's entire existence of course—after all, her creation had been a sudden and new thing in this world that had been here for ages. And not that she would really ever think that Jack had had little flings with the female citizens on a regular basis before her time, but she had assumed at least that maybe an effort on his part had been made here or there in the past to test out the romantic waters. The experiments must have failed, of course, since Jack tended to discourage the advances of the other women in town. But, Sally had never imagined that Jack had never ever…not even once…
Part of her was utterly elated at being so special all of a sudden—the only girl Jack's heart ever chosen.
A larger part of her though felt concern for Jack. He must have been around for a very long time—ever since the invention of Halloween. What loneliness to never have a dearest friend in all of that time…what heartache. No wonder his lament before Halloween had been so sad. And now he was trying to connect with her in this special way. Sally felt like she had just uncovered a very important piece of the puzzle about why Jack was so shy around her sometimes, why his passions could be so reserved, why the word love had never come close to leaving his lips yet about her.
"Um, here we are, Sally!"
Sally snapped out of her thoughts and looked up to see Jack returning to the sofa with a couple of lit candles in candleholders. He seemed his normal happy self once more. "Let's get started." He took his seat beside her again. "I'm sure this will be our most frightful Halloween yet with you helping to plan things. I really am so happy to be doing this with you, Sally. Thank you again."
Sally just smiled as best she could and nodded. "Oh, of course, Jack. And I really am happy you're letting me help." He obviously didn't want to pursue the issue of his prior romantic life at the moment, and she figured now wasn't the best time anyway…not to mention she still had quite a few topics of her own to talk about with him.
Meanwhile, seated alongside Sally, Jack was just cheerily unrolling a few blank pieces of paper and laying out pens and protractors and compasses. And he really was feeling happy about getting to Halloween plan with Sally. Deep down, though, he also felt a little twinge that he had done his best to shake while gathering the candles. 'Why did I tell her she's the only girl I've ever kissed? I know I want to be more honest and open with her, but still…I hope she doesn't think I'm silly or strange.' Jack had felt so vulnerable for that instant of time right after admitting that fact to her. And there was also that fear again of her not liking new things she might get to know about him…how sensitive he could be, how lonely, how unsure. Still, he was glad he had at least given her some small new piece of the truth about him. 'I just wish I knew if sharing that much with her was the right thing to do right now. I think it was. Or at least I hope it was.' Jack sighed and went back to laying things out with a smile while Sally took everything in with great interest and eagerness.
Thus Jack and Sally commenced their Halloween planning as the afternoon wore on.
Some time later, getting on into evening…
Jack and Sally still sat on the sofa together while on the coffee table were strewn almost a dozen sheets of papers bearing various notes and diagrams and plans, and the candles were burning quite low now after so much use.
"Now, Sally, we've worked out some basics for almost everything else so far for this year's parade…so won't you please finally tell me what you want your new extended part to be in our Halloween this year?" Jack asked with a grin, leaning in close to Sally on the couch.
Sally just giggled and looked away humbly. "Oh Jack, really, anything's fine. We can just add another line of singing to the part about the wind in my hair, and that should fill up the extra time easily enough."
Jack only grinned more. "Oh, Sally, if you still want to have the wind blowing through your hair, that's perfectly fine, but I really do think you could add something just as spooky as Oogie's shadow over the moon if not spookier with the extra time you'll have now to really express yourself like everyone else has."
Sally's smiled picked up a little on one side and she looked to his eye sockets. "Do you really think I could actually do something scary for Halloween, Jack?"
Jack nodded enthusiastically. "Of course, Sally! Why, you could…you could…um…hmm…" Jack blinked several times and paused. He suddenly realized that until this moment, he had never tried to think of any scary ideas for Sally to do regarding Halloween. After all, looking at her, she didn't exactly scream 'scary.' She was soft and delicate and beautiful and had the lightest, prettiest voice, and those big expressive eyes that just glowed like moonlight… Jack sighed dreamily to himself and managed to ask before getting too lost in his thoughts, "U-Um, pardon my asking, but…what do you do that's scary, Sally?" He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, I just realized I've never seen you in a frightening moment before."
Sally blinked at the question. Then she smiled and opened her mouth, as though about to answer. But then she paused and blinked again. "Ah…oh! Um…I guess I don't know, Jack. I…don't think I ever tried being scary, actually."
Jack nodded in understanding. "Oh, that's perfectly fine, Sally. It happens. Not everyone is scary right away. Actually," he smiled and shrugged, "I think you've got an advantage over everyone else. Just being scary is a little overrated, but you've got a nice, decent, half-sane personality to fall back on too."
Sally smiled more and laughed a little. "Thank you, Jack." He was sweet, but she still felt a little self-conscious now. How could she have overlooked that fact—the fact that Jack was the scariest being in existence and that she was the only person in Halloween Town with no directly scary talent to speak of? There was a definite incompatibility there…especially if they were ever to consider actually getting married. 'I'm not sure how good an unscary Pumpkin Queen would be for our world.' She rubbed her arm nervously. "I'm not really sure where to start about figuring out what makes me scary, Jack."
"Would you like me to help you?" Jack smiled more, giving a humble shrug. "I am the master of scaring, after all. I could, um…assess you a little if you'd like so that you could get some ideas?" he offered.
Sally nodded and smiled. "Of course, Jack. Thank you. I think that's a very good idea." She put both of her hands in her lap, her posture unable to help growing a little demure. "Start whenever you'd like to."
Jack nodded. "All right then. Well, um…what are you skills first? Things you're good at or like to do, just in general?"
Sally considered. "Well…I'm good at cleaning and cooking…and I like sewing…hmm…I guess I like animals too…and that's about it." She played with her hair, frowning a little.
"Hmm…" Jack considered her words. "All right, well…those skills don't apparently seem scary, but let's keep them in mind and then maybe we can apply them somewhere." He smiled encouragingly…and then tugged at his collar a little at the second thing he would have to bring up about her in all of this. His eye sockets went to her pale blue form covered in her pretty patchwork dress. "Then, um, besides skills, there's your body and how it might scare people. Um…so, you've got stitches…can you think of anything particularly scary about them?"
Sally just bit her lip and looked down at herself for a moment in thought. "I don't know, Jack. I don't think my stitches are that scary, and you really can't see most of them anyway." She shrugged. Her stitches were just stitches—maybe a little off-putting, but not scary necessarily. She looked back up to him.
Jack just swallowed and blanched a little. "N-No…I suppose you really can't see…all of…Erm, w-well…" he cleared his throat, smiling and doing his best to continue on. "Okay then, now let's just look at general scaring skills and try to find some that might apply to you, some you might not even have considered yet for yourself. We'll go through everyone else's parts in the parade and see if there's something related that you could do to extend your own part of even if there's something you could do to help with another person's part, okay?"
Sally smiled and nodded. "Okay, Jack. We can try that."
Jack let out a sigh and began. "All right then—the disappearing clown who rips off his face. Could you add to that at all or use that talent somehow?"
Sally thought, but sighed and shook her head. "No. If I take my face off, the stuffing comes out of my head and then I can't see anything. Plus I don't know how to disappear."
"Okay then…" Jack considered more. "Hiding under the bed with the creature who lives there—how about that? Scary teeth or glowing eyes?"
Sally shook her head again though. "I'm not very flexible, Jack, it's hard for me to squish myself under a bed. And my eyes don't glow and my teeth are just hard cloth."
"What about hiding under the stairs with the creature who dwells there with spiders in your hair?" Jack suggested with a shrug.
Sally blinked and her hands came up instinctively to her hair. "Jack! I don't want spiders in my hair. That would scare me—what if I couldn't get them out?!"
Jack tried very hard not to laugh…but really, here they were trying to figure out something for Sally to do to scare other for Halloween, and they hadn't hit on anything so far although now they had apparently found something to scare her. Jack just smiled, doing his best to be polite and supportive. "All right, all right, no spiders in Sally's beautiful hair. Instead, you could just jump out some trash cans along with other people, or even the fountain maybe?"
Sally considered but shrugged. "I think I would just end up falling over and hurting myself if I tried to fly out of a trash can. And if I go in the fountain, it'll take days for my body to dry out."
Jack sighed and nodded, thinking harder. "All right, um…you know what, Sally, let's put aside everyone else's scary roles and what they do and focus solely on you again—your traits, your skills, your body." He blanched just the tiniest bit but continued. "Now, your skills then—you like animals. Can you think of anything scary you could do with animals?"
Sally considered but then shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I just like animals, Jack. But I'm not an expert at training them or anything. And I'd be very worried about any of them getting hurt or too scared during the celebration."
Jack nodded. "Okay, then. Um…Oh, well, for cooking, perhaps you could cook up a new brew to contribute to the Halloween atmosphere. You could even help the witches with their 'brew'—make the bath Undersea Gal gets in there a little nicer, hmm? I know it's sort of related to something someone else does, but it does incorporate one of your own unique talents at least." He smiled hopefully.
Sally considered. An image came to her mind of Helgamine and Zeldabourne stirring on either side of their large cauldron with herself trying to stir right between them and add some ingredients to her own special blend of brew. She could see them all bumping elbows and the witches glaring at her with annoyance while she just looked down shyly and waited for it to be over. Sally had a feeling Undersea Gal wouldn't be too thrilled either—what if she messed up her 'bath' after all? "I…I don't think so, Jack." Sally shrugged, smiling politely at him though just the same. "The witches sort of have a tradition together, and Undersea Gal's used to that. I think I'd just get in the way. Besides, they know what they're doing better than I would. I can cook, but they know potions and brews much better."
Jack listened to her reasoning, and (though feeling a little disappointed) had to nod in agreement with her logic. "Maybe you're right. The two of them do work best with each other…and Undersea Gal is already so familiar with how they work with the cauldron on Halloween. Hmm…" Jack considered some more. 'Nothing that could hurt the animals…cooking's probably out…' "What about with the sewing? Perhaps there's something potentially frightful in that? After all, it involves needles—those are sharp and scary. And it would bring attention to your s-seams." He tried not to trip up too much on that last word. "And um...I guess the concept of being permanently attached to something or having someone permanently attach you to something could spread some fear. What do you think?" Jack smiled hopefully.
Sally thought about it, but sighed again as she replied to him. "Maybe. But I'm really the only one who can be sewn to myself, Jack. No one else is made of cloth after all." She tried to maintain an encouraging smile for Jack nonetheless.
Jack nodded again (doing his best, on his end, to maintain an optimistic smile). He had to admit, she had another good point. He tried to think harder.
"I could always just do the clean up at the end…" Sally suggested with a little sigh and a half smile in his direction. "It's not scary, but at least it contributes more to the celebration sort of…"
Jack just shook his head though, half smiling back. "No, no—if you want to help with clean up, by all means you can, Sally, although you certainly won't be the only one stuck doing it. But for now we're trying to find a scary thing for you during the actual celebration." Jack considered more. "Speaking of cleaning though…perhaps you could go past the moon on a broom like the witches do? I bet your silhouette doing that would look quite, um…y-you know, nice." Sally's lovely, gently curved form glowing darkly against the harvest moonlight? 'Nice' was an understatement in Jack's opinion, but it was all he could say without accidentally saying a million awkward things about her prettiness.
Sally smiled more. "Well, that is an idea, Jack. I-I don't know, though…" She bit her lip and explained. "The witches normally do that together as a tradition, and again I really don't want to interrupt their routine. And I don't have the best balance, like I said, so I don't think I would be able to fly too well. And, um…I don't really like heights." She swallowed. "When I fall from that high, almost all of me comes apart. I'm lucky if I can keep an arm safe to sew my legs and other arm back on with. It's a very nice idea, but I really don't think flying across the moon on a broom is for me."
It was a shame to lose that potential vision of Sally glowing high up against the moon, but with everything she had just said, Jack had to agree that a broomstick ride was out too. "I'm sorry, Sally. I should have realized…And I'm trying to just put you with other people again, aren't I? I'm sorry. We simply must find you your own scary thing, or at least your own role to play in a larger scary thing that goes on."
Sally almost smirked and couldn't help herself as she responded without missing a beat, "Maybe the witches and Undersea Gal could use a fourth for chasing you after the parade to tell you how wonderful and scary and desirable you are? I'm sure if we teamed up that I could come up with something original to distract you long enough for them to finally get their hands on you." She giggled a little.
"Oh, no, no, they always chase me after the celebration is over, and we really should find you something to do during the actual para—Sally!" It had taken Jack a moment to really process what she had just said, and now he sat there with wide eye sockets and his face blanching. He didn't even know what to say. "I-I…um…that's not…I-I have never encouraged…" He bit his lip and suddenly remembered his brief fantasy from back when he had been trying to determine when exactly he had fallen in love with Sally…how he had recalled that Sally never chased after him with longing each Halloween, but then had imagined her doing so…Jack's breaths grew a little shallow, and he quickly pushed the image away.
"Jack…" Sally moved up close along side him, smiling more, "It's okay. It was a joke. I know you don't like when they do that." Sally giggled softly and gently laced her fingers with Jack's on the sofa. He could have liked being chased, he could have adored all the women following after him, and he could have picked one of the witches or Undersea Gal for his dearest friend. But he hadn't because he hadn't wanted them. He had only picked her, only given her a kiss. Sally felt just a touch of a rare emotion for her—pride—in this moment.
Jack swallowed, trembling a little inside at her fingers lacing with his and her closeness. He barely glanced at her…and suddenly decided to give her another little bit of the truth inside of him. "If…" he swallowed again, "If you ever…um…did what they did…that I would like. I-I mean…" he was blanching so much, "…Not that I want you chasing me, that's so desperate. I just…I like when you're affectionate with me…like this." And then he gently squeezed her hand and moved a little closer to her so that they could rest slightly alongside each other as they sat.
Sally blinked, her eyes lighting up a bit and her lips curling into a little smile. "Really?" she asked, her leaves fluttering. "You'd like that from me?"
Jack swallowed and nodded. "Yes…I like the idea." He let out a very deep sigh. "But then again, I don't. You're my friend along with being my dearest friend. If you chased me seriously like that, I'd like it but…it would be very confusing to me. I don't know, it's hard to describe. All I know is that it might have been flattering when the other women would chase me, but I never really liked it. But the idea of you chasing me is…different." He glanced at her hesitantly, blanching entirely. "I'm sorry, Sally. That sounds so odd, I know. I don't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, I think I just…wanted you to know."
Sally looked back at him with wide eyes, a bright smile, and her cheeks a lovely glowing violet. Then she giggled. "Oh, Jack…it's all right to feel that way and to tell me about it. We are courting, after all." She turned more towards him.
"Really?" Jack raised an eyebrow, still looking shy but smiling a little more now.
Sally nodded. "Yes, Jack, I promise. In fact…" Her eyes hazed a little and she leaned in just a bit more, a very pleasant smile upon her features, "Now that you mention it, the idea of me chasing you does sound sort of fun." She cleared her throat lightly and then clasped her hands together over her heart and made her voice cooing and enraptured sounding. "Oh Jack, you're a rag doll's fondest dream. You make walls fall and the mountains crack, Jack! You're the most terrifying, ghoulish, horrific demon of the night there ever was. Oh just let me touch your coattails, please!" Just as Sally then giggled and playfully lunged forward to grab him, a stunned Jack pulled back a little to the arm of the sofa where he now rested with his eye sockets wide and breathing heavily.
Sally smirked at him a tiny bit and then just sighed and shook her head. "Jack…" she spoke normally again, "I'm just having some fun with you. Like a joke. Come on…none of those other girls could ever catch you. Let's see if I can." She leaned in a little closer, her eyes hazed and her smile growing. "It'll be fun. Besides, I like getting to tell you how sweet and wonderful you are." She giggled and looked away shyly.
Jack still looked a little petrified for a moment as he tried to absorb her suggestion. 'She wants to…she wants to…' But then… 'Oh…a joke. So it wouldn't be exactly like when the other women do it—they're always so serious in how they come after me. But with Sally it would be like playing…' Jack smiled a little. 'I never had anyone to play with much before. And as long as we'd be up here where we have privacy and no one could see…And as long as she really does like me that much and wants to….' "Oh, um…okay, Sally. I think I understand. And perhaps you're right—it might be fun." He shifted a tiny bit closer to her.
Sally giggled…and then gave a little lunge forward to catch him in a hug again.
Jack popped back toward the arm of the sofa just in time for her to miss him. He smiled more and even chuckled a little.
Sally giggled and moved closer and tried to snatch him again, but he proved too quick once more.
Sally smirked a little. "It's not fair, you know—you're so thin and agile after all…"
Jack just shrugged and smirked back at her. "And it's not fair that I don't have any more room on the sofa to move away from you to keep you from catching me…"
Jack and Sally looked into each other's eyes for a moment, communicating something…
And then Jack was up from the sofa, dashing away across the living room, and Sally was up, chasing after him and giggling with her arms outstretched. "Oh Jack, I adore you! Please be mine, oh scary Pumpkin King!"
Jack laughed heartily as he ran from her (though he wasn't trying terribly hard to actually get away so much as just to keep an arm's distance from her). "No, no, that's perfectly all right! I'm very busy being scary and stealing holidays after all!"
Sally laughed more too. "Oh, but can't you just hold me, or make a scary face, or sing something to me!? Oh Jack, you don't know how terrifying you are, just terrifying! You're the master of fright, Jack!"
Jack grinned ear to ear as he darted away from her carefully. "Yes, yes, I know, but I'm very brooding and solitary, I really should stay alone!" A little something inside of him twinged at the 'joking' words, as they did ring of truth…. He had always felt like he was supposed to be alone, different, outside of everything somehow as the leader, and it had always made him sad. But now to laugh and joke with her—something in him lightened about the sadness he had felt. He let himself stay still for a moment and then quickly dart away again just as Sally was going to grab him, and then stood still and darted away once more, teasing her playfully.
Sally, meanwhile, was just giggling and so very happy—she had never dreamed she would get to chase after Jack one day, let alone in private up in his house and knowing he wasn't nearly so averse to the idea of getting caught by her as he had been with all the other women. "Oh no, I know better, Jack," Sally countered, almost nabbing him. "Believe me, you'll like being with me better than being alone. That's what a dearest friend is for." Jack had stopped again for a moment to tease her, but rather than dashing to catch him like before Sally paused too now a few feet from him. She smiled sweetly and leaned close, batting her eyelashes at Jack with a playful giggle and tilting her head coyly to the side.
Sally watched with delight as her actions made Jack really seem too distracted to move for a moment. In fact, he almost stumbled from his weight shifting the wrong way on his feet. Jack blinked a few times, his eye sockets wide, and replied to her. "I-I…well…you…do make a compelling point. Being together with someone is nice...especially a dearest friend." He smiled sweetly.
Sally's smile warmed even more and she nodded. "Yes, very nice. Jack?" she cooed very delicately, leaning closer.
Jack swallowed, his smile trembling a little. "Yes…?" left him softly, almost shyly
Sally's smile curled at the ends more. "Um, you have a loose thread…" She raised her hand and delicately pointed at a place near his collar.
"Oh, really?" Jack blinked and looked down at the unexpected information, glancing at his jacket and shirt. After all, if anyone could detect even the most minor of sewing issues, it certainly was Sally.
Sally giggled and then quickly came forward as he continued to be distracted and put her arms around him with a big smile. "I caught you, Jack. And don't worry, I was joking about the thread." She hugged him, cuddling against his chest.
Jack had taken in a little gasp of air at her sudden hug, but then of course he became so warm all over that he just smiled and melted into her embrace. He hugged her gently too. "Very clever, my clever Sally. You caught me."
Sally giggled. "Are you happy I caught you, Jack?" she asked softly.
Jack's smile softened and grew. He nodded and softly replied back, "Yes. Without question." His smile picked up a little on one side. "Are you happy you caught me, Sally?"
Sally smiled more and let her eyes blink open to look up at him. "It's a dream come true."
Jack's eye sockets then went wide, and he felt very strange for a moment.
He wasn't sure what it was, like an odd feeling of deja vu coming over him out of the blue in response to what she had just said. Why? Who knew? It was just a phrase, a common phrase—'like a dream come true.' It just rang through him in a very strange way, was all.
But Jack just blinked a few times and smiled nonetheless as he replied to her. "I'm glad to hear that. It's been a dream come true for me too." He gave her a little extra hug and then pulled back, separating them. "That was fun, Sally…Some of the most fun I've had in a very long time actually. Thank you. I don't know how to repay you." He smiled down at her. (But as Sally smiled in return and replied back to him, it clicked with Jack how he might repay her….)
Sally giggled. "Oh Jack, I'm just happy you had fun. You should get to have more fun. You don't have to repay me though…um…Jack?" Sally blinked and leaned back a little. Jack had just taken a very graceful step right back toward her, putting them close again…and he had the funniest little smile on his face.
Jack chuckled and put a bit of charm in his voice. "Oh, but I insist. I'd love to repay you." Sally looked confused, and Jack just smiled more and leaned in a bit closer, looking into her eyes. "You're quite worthy of being chased too, you know…."
Sally blinked and a little squeak almost escaped her as what he was suggesting clicked. "J-Jack…" Everything inside of her danced wildly. Jack wouldn't…he wouldn't…Oh she would never be able to escape him, and she would nervously stumble everywhere, and what would he do with her if he caught her?! Sally was overwhelmed…but she also wanted to know. "I am…? Really?"
Jack nodded. "Mmm hmm. If you want to..." He added the last question politely and softly. "I don't want to overwhelm you."
Sally blushed and looked down, wringing her hands humbly in front of herself. "I can't run fast. And I lose my balance, like I said."
"I'll give you a head start. And if I see you falling, I'll race up behind you and catch you," Jack assured warmly.
Sally sighed and looked up into his eye sockets, so full of care and so easy to trust. She smiled dreamily and finally nodded. "Okay Jack…" left her in the lightest whisper. "You can chase me if you want to." Sally swallowed and then took a few steps backward. Jack didn't follow at first. She took a few more steps. He still didn't follow. She rolled her eyes. "Oh Jack, I don't need that much of a head start. Give me a little credit." She laughed.
Jack laughed too and finally took a step or two in her direction. "Better?" he asked with a little smirk.
"Better," Sally nodded in satisfaction. Then she bit her lower hip. And then she turned and dashed off across the room, doing her best to run but mostly just dashing along as quickly as she could while trying not to lose her balance from the movement or from all the giggles of anticipation that were pouring forth from her. "Jack!" she called out happily as she continued to run around.
Meanwhile, Jack chased after her, though he wasn't actually trying to catch her just yet of course—he just kept up at a nice pace behind her and laughed quite a bit himself, his arms reaching out in her direction. "Oh Sally! You're so nice and clever and pretty and wonderful! Please let me have you! At least let me touch your dress!"
Sally giggled like mad, glancing behind her as she ran around the coffee table. "No! I'm Sally, I'm just supposed to be your quiet little friend, remember? The one who you always smile at and say hello to and who always looks so shy when she says hello back to you, the one you always catch staring at you and being near you at the oddest moments." 'I can't believe he's being so passionate!' she thought to herself giddily. 'Oh Jack, this is wonderful!' "I couldn't let you have me, Jack! That would ruin my whole secret!" He had chased her around the coffee table, and now they had a touch of a stalemate as they were both at opposite ends of the piece of furniture, waiting to see which of them would finally pick another direction to run in.
"Ooo, a secret?" Jack asked with a grin. "That only makes you more intriguing! Please tell me! I want to know why you're always so shy with me and why I find you in all the strangest and most wonderful places. Oh Sally, don't you realize you're a skeleton's fondest dream?" He winked at her playfully.
Sally just giggled and then darted across the room again, looking back at him. "No, I can't tell you my secret! And skeleton's don't dream of rag dolls, silly!" Sally was utterly elated right now of course, though inside somewhere she felt the memories of old pains surface a little…Fearing never being able to tell Jack how she felt because what if he just lumped her in with every other woman in town who only wanted him to love them because he was the king and the scariest. And fearing that they wouldn't work out even if he did give her a chance…and fearing that even if he did like her a lot, a rag doll wouldn't be his first choice for a Queen. 'But he really does seem to like me no matter what. I'm so happy.' Sally felt so good inside.
"Ah, but I do hope that catching you will finally make you tell me your secret!" Jack, meanwhile, winked at her as he followed in 'hot' pursuit. "And what do you mean? If rag dolls can dream of skeletons, then skeletons can certainly dream of rag dolls. Sometimes skeletons just take a little longer to realize their dreams than rag dolls do." Jack's pace slowed a little, and the smile on his face softened. He suddenly felt that strange sense of deja vu from before. But why? He was just playing and joking about Sally being his 'fondest dream.' He wondered what was causing the strange feeling.
Sally noticed his slowing and she so slowed too, turning around to just gently glide backward away from him. "It's okay if skeletons take a little longer to realize their dreams…" She looked at him tenderly. "…Skeletons can be very busy, being Kings and everything."
Jack still moved toward her, though he was just walking now. He looked down a little, his smile fading a touch more. "But sometimes skeletons can also be quite selfish…and that's no excuse."
Sally blinked and her steps backward stopped. "You're not selfish, Jack," she replied simply and softly.
Jack paused now as well, and he still looked down. "No. I am sometimes. Sometimes I get very wrapped up in my own ideas and my own whims. And I was quite selfish about the whole Christmas thing. I almost left the town without a leader. And I almost left Christmas Town without a leader too. And I almost hurt you…" He sighed very deeply.
Sally frowned. She took the few steps back toward him. "Jack…My dearest Jack…" She bit her lower lip and reached out, touching his arm. "Did you love Christmas?" She tried to catch his eye sockets.
Jack blinked once, he was quiet for a second, and then he replied, "Yes. I did love Christmas. I still do. I like new things. And I like knowing now that there are different holidays to celebrate." His gaze met hers a little.
Sally smiled a little more. "And…do you love our town?"
Jack's head came up. He nodded. "Oh yes, yes, of course, I love our town and everyone in it very much. They're my friends, my family. All I've ever really wanted is for them to be as happy as possible and to get to share in that happiness with them."
Sally's smile grew. "Well, then it wasn't selfish of you to try to share something you love with all the people you love. I think it was very brave and considerate…even if it was a little misguided, Jack. You were just overwhelmed by how much happiness you thought you could bring to everyone and yourself. You're a very enthusiastic person—and it does wonders when you put that trait to the best use even if it can lead to some problems if you make a mistake. But you tried your best to make everyone happy, and you even cared enough about Santa to think that you were giving him a break from his holiday just like you wanted from Halloween. There's no shame in that, Jack."
Jack smiled in a touch of wonder. "Then you really don't think I'm a selfish and foolish old skeleton, Sally?"
Sally shook her head, coming closer to put her hands on his shoulders and gaze up at him. "Definitely not. I think you're generous and brilliant. Even about me… You found me in danger and you saved me, Jack, just like I knew you would." She sighed softly and rested her head against his shoulder. Then she giggled and added, "And you're not old. The dead don't age, silly. You just are how you are…and you are a very nice young skeleton man."
Jack was grinning and blanching a little, and he chuckled, his eye sockets full of warmth. "Thank you, Sally. And, oh of course I saved you, Sally. I'll always save you if you need it. And you saved me first. You save me right now just by being here." He put his arms around her to give her a gentle hug.
Sally giggled. "You're welcome." But then she moved her head back to look up at him, raising an eyebrow. "But, Jack, I didn't save you…or anyone actually. I messed up at saving Santa. I tried but…" Sally didn't want to think about it. It had been very scary getting trapped by Oogie Boogie. She didn't want to dwell.
Jack shook his head though, smiling more. "You bought me time so I could save Santa, and by doing that you saved me from damaging a holiday forever. And then you save me now by being here and being my friend. I was a little lonely before I found you, Sally. But now I have you here with me. You're my dearest friend. I trust you more than anybody else and…I'd only ever chase you around the house for fun, or have 'moments' with you on a hilltop, or tell you something about how I feel about my mistakes." He looked into her eyes. Still though he wished…there was so much he wasn't telling her yet, things about his deepest loneliness, things about longing, things about the devastation he had felt to hear her screams come from Oogie's lair, things about how he could almost never forgive himself for what he had put her through Christmas night, and of course the things about his fears over how he could make a mess of their relationship just as he had made a mess of the holidays. But maybe very soon he could open up to her completely, just like Flora had encouraged him to do.
Meanwhile, inside, Sally felt her heart twinge with guilt. Jack trusted her so much, but here she was coming up with pretenses to keep him in the house and away from the town hall, avoiding telling him the truth about the Doctor, keeping from him her concerns about the depths of his feelings for her. But Jack didn't deserve such deception, and she didn't like the part of herself that was perpetrating it. No, she had to tell him everything…and it had to be tonight, during their date, she decided. She would not stall until morning. "Thank you, Jack," Sally replied softly, moving as close as possible and looking into his eye sockets, her voice tender. "I know you didn't mean for anything bad to happen. I know you'll never let anything bad like that happen again, that you won't put any more holidays at risk. You know better now, and now we can just care about what's important again. The town and everyone's safety…and us."
For a second, just for a second…Jack felt almost nauseatingly guilty. Did she mean she would think he was doing something wrong if she knew he was visiting Valentine Town? Would she not like that? Would she consider that to be putting something at risk? But then Jack blinked and of course remembered that what he was doing regarding Valentine's Day and what he had done regarding Christmas were two totally different things. He wasn't stealing anything or planning to take over Valentines Day, he wasn't abandoning Halloween (hadn't he and Sally just spent a few hours going over plans for it, after all?), he wasn't doing anything that could remotely endanger others or himself and leave the town without a leader. No, his actions were perfectly acceptable. And he looked forward to sharing them with Sally and maybe even taking her on a little trip to visit Valentine Town. That would be nice. And he did still want her to meet Flora. He still liked the idea of a friend for Sally. Jack nodded to her. "Of course, Sally. I'm here to stay, and I won't try to steal a holiday or let anything bad regarding something like that happen ever again. You have my word." He smiled sincerely down at her.
Sally's smile brightened. She leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Then she pulled back and sighed happily. "Thank you, Jack." She nuzzled into his shoulder a little.
Jack gave her a little squeeze, his arms still around her. "You're welcome, Sally. And thank you as well."
The two remained like that for a few quiet, happy moments.
Then Jack grinned. "Hmm…you know I guess all of this isn't helping us very much to figure out what makes you scary." He laughed a little.
His laughter made Sally laugh too, and she moved back a little to gaze up into his eye sockets. "I don't mind if you don't…" She blushed a little again.
Jack smiled more and put one of his hands over one of hers on his shoulder. "Not at all. I like you just like this, actually. Everyone here can be scary…but only one person here is special enough to be Sally."
Sally just beamed at that reply! "Oh Jack…"
Jack chuckled, and then he blinked as a thought occurred to him. "Hey…I caught you." He stepped back and squeezed her hand a little, holding it high in 'triumph'.
Sally blinked at first but then chuckled too and rolled her eyes. "It seems that way, I guess. You're not bad at chasing girls, Jack. I-I would say you should have tried it years ago…but I'm happy you only tried it with me."
Jack nodded. "Me too."
Sally giggled again. Then she looked up at him with a little smirk. "But…have you really caught me, Jack?"
Jack blinked and looked down at her with a confused smile. He squeezed her hand once more. "Hmm, well, I do have you in my grasp, so I must say yes, my darling."
Sally grinned. "Don't be too sure, silly skeleton. Dolls are clever, remember?" And then without warning she pulled a thread from an upper seam on her arm, detached it from Jack's grasp, and dashed off again with a giggle, leaving behind a very confused-looking Jack holding a severed blue cloth arm in her wake.