A/N:
Hi everyone! Here's the latest chapter : ) Thank you all so much again for being patient with me about updates. This has been a challenging year for me, and there's just a lot to take care of right now. But I'm glad to be posting another update, and I hope you'll all enjoy it ^_^ And please review if you can!
Dearest Friends
Chapter 18:
Behind the Scenes
The trick-or-treaters, the pumpkin king, and the rag doll (as well as the walking bathtub full of bugs) were finally coming up to town now. Jack and Sally lingered behind the children a little as they strolled, and for the past few minutes there had just been silence among the party. But now, seeing that their destination was in sight and knowing he might not have a chance to talk alone with Sally again for a while, Jack made himself ask her a certain question before he lost the nerve or they lost their privacy.
"Sally? Back at the tree house, why did the children say Oogie Boogie was very upset with you? Did something happen?" Jack glanced at Sally, trying to seem casual but unable to help frowning slightly.
At his words, Sally clearly stiffened up a little. 'He was there long enough to hear…' "Jack, it's nothing," she mumbled back. "I'll tell you later. I tricked Oogie, and he got upset with me. But I don't want to talk about it right now." She wrung her hands together.
Jack could see a little blush creeping into her features, though her look suggested unease rather than the usual shy embarrassment that tended to accompany her blushes. He frowned more. "Sally…" On instinct he reached up a hand toward her, intending to place it on her shoulder.
Sally saw his movement out of the corner of her eye and flinched slightly, unable to help it. She quickened her pace to move a little ahead of him—still easily able to talk privately but slightly more difficult to touch for the moment. She cleared her throat and changed the subject to get his mind (and her own mind) off of Oogie Boogie. "Jack, maybe you should worry more about how you're going to explain all of these bugs to everyone in town, or how you're going to explain your trips to Valentine Town to them." She glanced back at him.
Jack blinked. "You want me to tell them about Valentine Town too?"
Sally nodded. "Yes. You need to be honest with them about what's been going on in your life lately, Jack, and as quickly as possible—what better time than now and at a town meeting?" She smiled. "Express your restlessness to them, tell them how you've been exploring other places and maybe want to connect with the other holiday worlds to learn about them and not to steal from them. They have a right to know why you've been scarce ever since Christmas. Everything. And you have a right to be honest with them about how you feel." Sally's pace had slowed, and she was back beside Jack again.
Jack frowned slightly but nodded…and then had to add with a glance to her, "That means I'll also be telling them that you and I have become close." He blanched a little. "I won't explain details to them of course—those are private and we're still having some problems together, after all. But I have to let them know where you've been and how we feel about each other. I'm sorry if it upsets you—I'm the king, and you're right, I have to keep my citizens informed." He glanced down. "If you'd like, I'll take care of doing that entirely myself. I know you can be a little shy, and I don't want to upset you at all by making you go on stage with me, especially with everything else I've put you through lately."
Sally blushed a little. She hadn't thought much about the idea of actually being on stage and telling the whole town her private feelings—it was overwhelming enough thinking about what people would say once they found out in any way how she felt about Jack and how Jack felt about her. But to have Jack go up on stage under the bright lights to deliver the news alone? Sally shook her head. "I'd like to tell them with you, Jack," she finally replied. Then she took his hand in hers as they walked and glanced up at him. "I think it would be better coming from both of us."
Jack glanced to her in return, frowning a little. "I just don't want you to do anything that would be too, um…well…"
"Too much excitement for me?" Sally replied a bit dryly, frowning a little herself. "Jack we've been over this…"
"You're right, you're right…" Jack let out a deep sigh and shook his head, "I'm sorry. I seem to have this compulsion to be very protective of you. I really don't mean to make you feel like I don't trust you or like you can't handle things, I just…" He sighed softly. "I'm naturally protective over everybody because I love them and because I'm their King. But how I feel about you is different, Sally. You're a most precious person to me." He squeezed her hand. "I'll try to explain it better later. But for now, yes, of course, we'll tell them together. I wouldn't have it any other way as long as you'll be happy." He smiled warmly.
Sally smiled warmly too. "Jack…thank you." She moved closer to him, letting their arms rest side by side as they strolled, and squeezed his hand a little in return.
Meanwhile, by now the happy couple had a little audience of course.
Lock, Shock and Barrel weren't dumb, deaf, and blind exactly, after all. Not that the three children could hear everything that was said by Jack and Sally, but they could see the actions taking place between their King and the rag doll seamstress well enough.
Barrel and Lock just looked with wide eyes from the sight to each other and back to the sight and back to each other.
Shock just stared straight on at the couple with an interested scowl. "Okay, wait a minute!" The tub stopped walking forward, causing Jack and Sally to catch up pretty quickly before they stopped too and realized their whole little procession had been halted.
Shock eyed them warily from her place atop the covered cages in the tub.
Jack and Sally looked back at her with wide eyes, having almost forgotten about the nearby presences of the children.
Shock, finished looking them over, decided to be the first to say what was on the minds of the trick-or-treaters. "Oh, I knew the two of them were standing way too close when we went with the Mayor to rescue them from Oogie Boogie and shined the spotlight down there! And now you're both giggling and holding hands. What's next, are you gonna postpone Halloween preparations another two months and make us plan for a wedding instead?" She smirked.
Jack and Sally both blinked and then smiled a little funny and looked down.
"Shock…" Jack cleared his throat and started, doing his best to maintain some poise, "Yes, it's true that Sally and I have discovered that we have a…very deep mutual friendship, and we've been waiting for the right time to express the truth about it to everyone. We'll be letting them all know about the situation at the town meeting as soon as the bug problem is taken care of." Jack felt very awkward, but he also knew this was good practice, only having to tell three people about their feelings. And these children were three of his harshest critics, so they would certainly respond the worst of anybody, and if he and Sally could weather that kind of reaction then they could whether any kind of reaction. Jack was also very interested to see what form their harsh reaction might take.
Shock rolled her eyes at him. "Hey, if you want to wait to tell the town in some big public moment that you've finally cracked and decided not to be Halloween's most eligible bachelor anymore, that's fine. But you should have just told us earlier that Sally was your girlfriend, now, Jack. Back at the tree house, we would have let her go before with our apologies and a basket of rotten fruits! Sheesh, we're crafty, not stupid!" She put her hands on her hips.
Sally's smile couldn't help but pick up a little on one side, and she giggled to herself. "Girlfriend…" The word had never occurred to her before.
Jack blanched a little and continued addressing the children with a humble smile. "Shock, the situation is a little more complicated than that. We've only had a few days together. And we've decided to keep details about anything to ourselves."
Sally nodded to Shock, still smiling quite a bit.
Shock didn't seem satisfied by the evasive quality of Jack's response though. Actually she seemed even more surprised and then intrigued. "A few days together, huh? So I take it you've been harboring our little fugitive Sally ever since Christmas." She smirked. "Jack, I didn't know you had it in you, I'd practically expect something that juicy from Oogie Boogie."
"Wait a minute…" Lock started, glancing to Shock then Barrel, "So you're saying that Jack and Sally have been together all this time? Like for days?"
"All alone locked up in Jack's house without any contact at all until now?" Barrel added, looking equally surprised.
Then both boys turned to Jack with devilish grins. "All right, Jack, way to go!" they announce at once!
"Yeah!" Barrel cheered with a lick of his lollipop. "You always turn down the witches and Under Sea Gal when they ask you out—we just figured you didn't have it in you to get a girl!"
"Yeah, and definitely not the only woman in town who isn't covered in wrinkles and warts or who isn't full of scales and seaweed or who isn't, you know…Shock." Lock gestured to her with his pitchfork, stifling a laugh.
"Oh ha ha, like you're such a prize!" Shock pulled down his devil mask and snapped it against his face.
"Ow!" Lock cried out. He lifted up his mask and rubbed his cheek.
Then Shock turned around and gave Barrel a conk on the head.
"Hey!" he called out, rubbing his head, "What was that for?"
"Oh, you were bound to say something stupid too, and I have better things to do than to wait around for you to do it!" Shock stuck her tongue out at him.
Meanwhile, at this point, Jack just sighed deeply and rolled his eyes. He glanced to Sally. "Just a moment Sally, I'll get them to stop." Then he looked to the children and a scowl came to his face as he clearly prepared to scare them into submission again.
Sally put a hand on his shoulder though, causing Jack to pause and blink and turn to her again with his normal looking face and an eyebrow raised.
"Jack," Sally started with a little smile, "Not that your scary faces aren't very terrifying, but weren't you just talking to them about love in the tree house? There are other ways to get them to stop when they're misbehaving. May I try?" She smiled hopefully.
Jack blinked but then nodded. "Oh, um, of course, Sally." He stepped aside and gestured forward with a smile.
"Thank you, Jack." Sally went forward to the children. They were just whacking each other and pinching each other and calling each other random insulting names. Sally could see how it could annoy Jack sometimes—he was a very organized and punctual man, and this behavior did ring of wasteful nonsense. But there was nothing dangerous here and nothing much she couldn't fix just as easily as he could. The kids right now reminded her of the Doctor and Igor actually—they could get into the silliest fights sometimes. 'It's a good thing those two do have Jewel—the Doctor needs somebody around to care about him and Igor even if that person can't be me.' Then Sally walked right into the middle of the three children, turned around, and held Shock by the collar with one hand and Lock and Barrel by the collar with the other.
"Hey!" all three of the kids yelled at once.
Sally just smiled down at them. "Lock, Shock, Barrel, we were all having a talk about something, remember? Jack and I and our new relationship. And we don't have much time considering the bug problem and the town meeting, so maybe you three could take a deep breath and calm down and go back to paying attention now?"
The three children still looked a little perturbed but then all three of them finally just sighed.
"Fine…"
"Okay…"
"Whatever…" Shock rolled her eyes. "Does this mean that you're going to be Pumpkin Queen now and boss us around along with Jack? Because if I have double royalty to serve from now on, I wanna demand some concessions for my allegiance."
Sally did her best not to smile too much at Shock's reply (or to blush too much at it). She finally released the children. "Oh, I'm no Queen, Shock," she replied modestly. "But if you're worried about having to listen to me too, all I could offer you in return is to repair your witches costume whenever you need it."
Shock just sighed but at least shrugged and nodded. "Well, it's a start."
Sally laughed softly, unable to help herself.
Jack came forward now, his gaze looking intrigued. 'How…clever.' Jack smiled—he loved that word to describe Sally. It fit her so perfectly. She had this delicate blend of intelligence and creativity that always surprised him. He looked to her. "Thank you, Sally." He gave her a small bow. Then he straightened up and looked back to the children. "Now then, where were we…"
"You were going to explain to us how you've spent almost the past week living all alone with a woman!" Lock suggested with a grin.
Jack cleared his throat, blanching a little. "Y-Yes, well, of course Sally needed a place to stay after choosing to leave the Doctor's manor. And I care for her, so naturally I found her room with me."
Shock rolled her eyes and then sighed at the Pumpkin King and his 'special friend'. "Let's just cut to the chase and save some time, shall we? She's not our Queen but you two are more than friends—so what are you exactly? Did I get it right with her being your girlfriend, Jack?"
Jack and Sally both blinked and looked to each other with a touch of uncertainty. Jack looked back to Shock. "Oh, well…Shock, we'd rather just say that we've discovered we have a deep friendship that's become a very affectionate and romantic relationship together, I think. You see, it's…a little complicated."
"We just have some things to talk about," Sally added softly.
Jack nodded. "Yes. Some things have happened over the last few days, and we're sort of in an unusual place at the moment."
Barrel licked his lollipop. "You goofed things up with her, didn't you, Jack?"
Jack blinked and then scowled and pouted a little. "N-No, I didn't! I…well…it's just—"
"Oh please." Shock rolled her eyes. "We can always tell when you're lying to us. You totally did mess it up after only half a week—way to go, Pumpkin King."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's not—and how do you even know I'm the one who messed things up?"
"Jack…" Sally pouted at him.
Jack blinked and looked to her again. "Sally, I don't mean it like that. I just mean, well…well, why would it automatically have to be me? They don't even know anything about how we are together yet." He frowned and rubbed the back of his neck, looking down. "Is it really that obvious that I'd be the one to mess up?"
Lock rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, Jack, Sally's like four times smarter than you, plus she isn't the one who made the mistake of trying to turn Halloween into Christmas or Christmas into Halloween or whatever nutty thing we've been helping you with for the last two months!" He joined with his two friends in some laughter.
Jack just let out a very deep sigh and put a hand to his head. "No one is ever going to let me live down the Christmas thing, are they, Sally?"
Sally smiled, her tone gentle. "It's okay, Jack. It may have been a little wrong, but your Christmas was also sort of fun. I liked it, and I know others did too." She looked to the kids with a soft smile. "Maybe Jack and I have both made some mistakes. The point is, it's only been a few days. We need some time before we can decide what we are officially to each other. All you need to know is that Jack cares for me and that I care for Jack very, very much…" Then she shyly leaned over and kissed Jack on the cheek.
The Pumpkin King's eye sockets went wide and a small smile came to his bony lips.
The three kids blinked in surprise. And then they just laughed and laughed and laughed some more.
"O-Oh, that's it," Shock managed to get out between tears, "We need to get to town hall now—I can't wait to see them announce this." She turned forward, gave a loud whistle, and the bathtub started to depart.
"Yeah," Lock nodded as he resumed walking alongside the tub, "Oh boy, Barrel, how much Halloween candy you want to bet we end up with a riot on our hands when the witches and Undersea gal see Jack's taken!"
Barrel chuckled, likewise walking alongside the tub again too. "I just want to see Jack explaining to the Doctor that Sally's going to be cooking and cleaning at his house from now on!"
The children laughed more.
Jack and Sally just watched them proceeding forward.
Sally half smiled. "Well…that didn't go too horribly, right, Jack?" She glanced at him and gave a little shrug. "Of anybody, the three of them were probably going to have the most to say about us…except for maybe the Doctor." She looked down.
"And except for my little female fan club…" Jack added with a sigh, looking down as well. He shook his head and mumbled to himself. "I will never understand what women keep trying to see in me."
Sally blinked and looked to him with an eyebrow raised. "Jack, be serious."
"I am being serious." Jack smiled at her and shrugged. "I know why you like me, of course—we're meant to be together. But why most women always seem to like me is something that I'll never understand at all. I'm just a lanky skeleton who keeps odd hours and has strange hobbies and who likes to sing and on occasion sets himself on fire with a jack-o-lantern on his head. I don't know why any woman would find all of that so alluring. Sometimes I'm even surprised to think of you putting up with me—I really have made a mess of our relationship so far, Sally." His gaze became more serious. "Once all of this bug business is taken care of, I'll do everything I can to explain myself and make it up to you, Sally, I promise." He smiled again. "Now come on, let's go join the children." He took her hand and led her onward.
As they proceeded forward, Sally just looked at him with a pout and an eyebrow raised. Such a strange thing to say about himself regarding the other women… Could he really not see how they could all fall for him? The idea made her remember Jack's other strange statement from the other day about how she was the only woman he had ever kissed. Sally matched pace with Jack and squeezed his hand. "I know, Jack, we'll get to talk soon, and I'm sure it'll make us both feel better. But just so you know for now…of everything that goes on in our world, all of the illogical things and the impossible things and the psychotic things, to me all the women doting on you always made the most sense. You're more likeable than you realize."
Jack glanced at her with an eyebrow raised but Sally just smiled in a secret way, clearly not ready to say more. Besides which, there really wasn't much time at the moment.
They had just entered the town now. It wasn't far to the town hall.
"Lock, Shock, Barrel," Jack called out to the three children. "All of you and that tub are going to go into the back entrance of town hall with me and Sally—no shenanigans or tricks, please. All right?" His tone was firm but fair.
"Yeah, yeah, okay, you got it," Shock called back lazily, giving another whistle to send the tub in the direction of the back entrance.
Jack glanced to Sally again. "It's better that we're not seen until we're on the stage—it'll raise too many questions, about us and about the bugs. I'll start speaking first on stage to break the ice and then we'll get to the trick-or-treaters when I give you the queue, all right?"
Sally nodded. "All right, Jack. You're the expert. Besides, I'd rather just listen than speak on stage at first anyway." She blushed a little, looking down. "You were right—I can be a little shy. I don't like crowds very much."
Jack smiled and squeezed her hand. "Well, then it's a good thing you'll have me there to hold your hand and to help you feel better and to remind you that everything's going to be okay when it is time for you to speak to everyone."
Sally smiled more and nuzzled near his shoulder a little. "Silly skeleton…you always know just what to say."
Jack smiled warmly and Sally smiled peacefully as they went around the back of the lit up and clearly packed town hall just behind Lock, Shock, Barrel and the bath tub.
(And, meanwhile, someone with a keen sense for love was following in their wake.)
(And, meanwhile, someone with a keen sense of bureaucracy was following in hers…)
In the back of town hall several minutes later, Sally and the children were waiting patiently while Jack went up to the stage between the backdrop curtain and the front curtain, certain that there he would find…
"Mayor!" Jack called out happily (but quietly so as not to startle any of the seated citizens out front) as he suddenly spotted the familiar stout figure. Though it had only been a few days, it felt to Jack like ages since he had seen and talked to the Mayor. So much had happened lately, after all.
"Jack!" The Mayor's worrisome face (which had been switched on for a good two days now) instantly whipped around to his smiling one. He waddled forward. "Oh Jack, there you are, and you're well, and you're here! It's so good to see you!" He breathed a deep sigh of relief. "Oh Jack, we've all be so worried about you, about Sally, about Jewel, about just about everything, but it's so wonderful that you're feeling better. And you've even rescued Jewel and Sally I hear too! Jewel told us all about your daring escapade to save her from Oogie's gorge, and we couldn't be more proud of you, Jack. Dr. Finkelstein even wants to thank you personally!" The Mayor took Jack's hand and shook it enthusiastically.
Jack just smiled warmly and he shook the Mayor's hand in return. "Yes, I'm happy to help, and everyone's quite welcome. And it's very good to see you too, Mayor."
Though Jack, prone to his brooding ways, did not often admit it to himself, he considered the Mayor his best friend just shy of Zero and Sally. The Mayor always expressed concern for him not just as King but on a personal level too, he worked very hard with Jack to make Halloween a success every year, and no matter what stunts Jack pulled or what requests he made, the Mayor always did his best to support Jack and always had the greatest faith in him. Jack may have hesitated from expressing all of his doubts and personal problems to the Mayor just because he knew the Mayor did rely on him quite a bit as a source of stability in the town, but they did still have a personal relationship, and Jack knew he had been taking that relationship for granted lately. He stopped shaking the Mayor's hand now and looked down at him with a smile.
The Mayor just smiled back up at him. "So, Jack, I take it this meeting is to return Sally safely home and to make some announcements about Halloween?"
Jack let out a small sigh. He hated that matters had to be more complicated than the Mayor's hopeful suggestion. He smiled though, trying to be encouraging just the same. "Yes, Mayor, Sally is safe and…has returned to all of us." He cleared his throat a little. "And don't worry, some of the time I've been spending off on my own I did dedicate to Halloween plans, and I can't wait to go over what I've come up with so far with you."
The Mayor practically beamed. "Ah, Jack, that's wonderful! I'm sure if we work together we'll get all caught up in no time and have the most horrible Halloween ever!"
Jack nodded. "I have no doubt, Mayor, not one at all." He smiled. But then Jack had to sigh and let his smile fall just a little bit. "But, unfortunately, all of that good news is not the only reason I wanted to call a town meeting."
The Mayor hesitated. "It's not?" He face went to worrisome again. "Jack, please, no more new holidays if that's what this is about—I can't handle you blowing up to smithereens again—you know how I get under pressure."
Jack smiled a little more and shook his head. "No more new holidays, I promise. At least, no more stealing new holidays." He bent down a little, looking at the Mayor's eyes. "We are Halloween Town and Halloween is going to remain the only holiday we create and are in charge of." He straightened back up again. "That being said though, Mayor, we now know there are other holidays. And if possible I would like us to continue learning about them even though Halloween will be our central focus again. I'll speak more about it during the meeting if there's time—do you approve?"
The Mayor considered. "Well…I suppose, Jack. Is that what you've been doing for the last few days—trying to see about the other holidays?"
Jack shook his head. "Not exactly. Although I've been thinking about them. But Mayor, besides the new holidays, I have some things to say to everyone about my actions and my whereabouts lately and about Christmas, and then we have a new problem. A 'bug' problem." Jack frowned a little. "And we'll really need everyone's help to think up a way to fix this one." Jack then proceeded to explain to the Mayor about the trick-or-treaters and the bugs.
Behind the stage, meanwhile, Sally was still waiting with the children and their buggy bathtub.
The trick-or-treaters were just going through their normal motions of fighting and bothering each other while Sally sat on a crate and watched them with a small smile. 'They're sort of sweet sometimes even if they could use some better manners.' Sally let herself daydream for a moment about how nicely she and Jack could raise their own children. She imagined the two of them working very closely together, and their little skeleton or rag dolls snuggling close with both of them in happiness. And she imagined that every time she told Jack she was going to have another baby, he would get the shyest look on his face at first but then smile in a special way and kiss her softly. And then they could celebrate the good news in some place private.
Sally sighed softly to herself, smiling more. 'Why is it so hard to stay mad at him?'
Just then a familiar figure came in through the back stage door.
"Hello? Jack, Sally—are either one of you here?" called a woman's delicate voice.
Sally blinked and then stood up. She frowned a little. 'Flora. What's she doing here? Doesn't she have her own Town full of hearts and love and lots of eligible subjects to go back to?' Sally did not want to see Queen Flora, but she tried to be calm and remember that she was just being a little jealous and that there was a diplomatic dimension to this situation too. She straightened her dress and decided to approach the Heart Queen.
"Hey, who's that?" Shock suddenly asked with interest, pausing in her current bopping of Lock on the head with her witch's broom.
"She looks weird—ugh, and she smells like flowers! Fresh ones!" Lock put down his pitchfork (which he had been about to shove into Barrel's back) and made a gagging action.
"And she's wearing pink!" Barrel cringed, moving away from Shock's witch's hat which he had been about to snatch.
"Oh, you have children here in your world—wonderful!" Flora announced in a pleased tone. She clasped her hands together as she approached in her red silk robes, prism eyes flashing and silvery hair shimmering so much against the dull, dark Halloween colors of the town hall. She bent down to their level. "Hello there. It's a pleasure to meet you three. May I ask your names? And may I say that I love your costumes?"
Lock, Shock and Barrel perked up at the compliments and got into their usual straight row for introducing themselves. They each took off their masks as they said their names.
"Lock!"
"Shock!"
"Barrel!"
"We're Halloween's finest and only trick-or-treaters!" Shock announced proudly. "And just who the heck might you be?" She eyed the rosy colored woman curiously. "And what's with the 'pretty in red' getup?"
Flora's grin picked up on one side, and she straightened up and crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh, I like you. Very to the point." Her eyes glowed a little more and she cleared her throat. "I'm from one of the other holiday worlds—the door with the heart—and I'm here to see Jack Skellington."
Shock blinked at that answer. And then she sighed and put her head in her hand, rolling her eyes. "Oh boy, Jack really, really, really, really did goof, didn't he, Sally?" She looked behind Flora to the rag doll.
Sally swallowed and finally came forward. "Shock, that's enough." She did her best to make eye contact with Flora and to smile. "Hello. I thought you had gone home, but if you're having trouble finding your way I'd be happy to lead you back there. I'm sure they miss you very much in your world and would like you back to stay for a while." She was looking down by now with a small pout.
Flora blinked, then frowned a bit. "Oh dear, dear…" 'The jealousy coming off of her is so strong she's practically a solid green to me.' "I'm sorry if I'm intruding—someone was definitely talking about love earlier, I believe it was Jack. And I sort of have a sixth sense for that word. Not to mention I have the most uncanny feeling that I have work to be done here about something besides you two." She glanced around curiously. "Anyway, that's why I'm here now—just following the trail of love." She looked back to Sally and smiled.
Sally raised an eyebrow in confusion for a moment, but then she blinked in realization. 'Of course. Jack was talking about loving Lock, Shock and Barrel before.' "Oh," Sally said simply with a shrug, "Jack was just telling some of his other citizens how much he cares for them, that must have been what you sensed. It's not a big deal. Either way, though, he's busy right now. But you can talk to him later I guess if you want. I wouldn't want to interfere in official royal holiday business, after all." She crossed her arms over her chest, her look a little dull.
"Actually , I wouldn't mind having a word with you as long as we have a moment," Flora suggested carefully.
Sally's frown showed she clearly did not like the idea. But she would not be rude, and she would not be immature about this situation. She nodded. "If you want to, that's okay."
"Let me guess," Shock announced, stepping between them and to look up to Sally, "you want the three of us to disappear so you two can have some big talk, huh?"
Sally let out a small sigh. She looked down to Shock and tried to smile. "Shock, the town meeting is going to start soon anyway. You can probably go over to Jack and the Mayor now and ask about where they want your bathtub placed for the announcement."
Shock sighed but then just rolled her eyes and nodded. "Oh all right, but only because after you two talk I can't wait to see how Jack gets out of this one! Lock, Barrel!" She clapped her hands together. "Let's go!"
The two boys grinned at more of look at Flora and then broke into chuckles as they hopped onto the edges of the tub to sit. Shock hopped on top of the covered crates again and whistled. The tub came to life once more and carried the whole little party onto the stage and past the backdrop curtain, though before they got out earshot, Shock was heard to laugh to herself one more time and exclaim, "Jack is in soooo much trouble! Ha!"
Flora smiled as she watched them disappear. Then she glanced back at Sally. "Are they your children, Sally? Or your brothers and sisters?"
Sally blinked and blushed darkly. "No, of course not!" She took a breath and tried to sound a little less shocked as she added, "I don't have any children—Jack's the only man I've ever cared about, and we've never…." She blushed again, then swallowed and continued. "And I don't have any brothers and sisters…I couldn't. I was built in a laboratory, sewn together out of scraps of cloth and filled with old leaves."
"Oh." Flora glanced to the side awkwardly. "I'm sorry. I was just curious, but I didn't mean to pry. It was very sweet of them to give me so much attention." Flora sighed. "I hear Jack always gets a lot of attention too. It must be the same for all the holiday leaders. I'm fairly certain I have it the worst of anybody though." Flora smiled a little to herself and shook her head. "Especially with romantic attention, or at least with people associating me with romantic attention…" she added with a slight rosy blush.
"Yes, I'm sure it must be very difficult for you having people always admire and feel attracted to you. And I'm sure it must have been very difficult for you having a fearsome King fall into your world and having him fall in love with you at first sight for a little while." The words left Sally softly, and then she couldn't help swiftly moving away from Flora and sitting down on her crate again.
Flora instantly approached her. "Sally, that is not what happened." She shook her head and took a seat on a crate beside her.
Sally shrugged, still pouting. "Why not? You're a Queen, you're pretty, you're powerful, you're very new and exciting. And don't let Jack fool you with that 'But she's alive!' comment he made before." Sally smiled a little tensely to herself and shook her head. "He loves living things more than he lets on, believe me—anything new or different is exactly what he loves the most."
There was quiet for a moment.
Then Flora sighed softly. "I can't make people who have already found their true loves feel love for me, by accident or by design, Sally. Not that I would ever intentionally make anyone feel love for me—that would be a horrible abuse of my powers, like Jack using his frightfulness to cause harm to others instead of just to give a good scare, or like Santa using his jolliness to force people to feel happiness and goodwill instead of giving them reasons why they should have happiness and goodwill through his gift-giving. But none of that matters anyway—like I said, even if I wanted to, I can never make people who have found their true loves feel love for me." She looked at Sally very seriously.
Sally's eyes grew wide. She felt warm all over. "You think I'm Jack's…"
Flora smiled. "You know the answer to that better than I do, Sally. But if it gives you some more confidence, yes, the Heart Queen, mistress of all love and affection, thinks that you are Jack Skellington's true love."
Sally's smile beamed a little.
Flora smiled happily. She explained some more. "Sometimes when I'm very happy or excited or curious, I can't control that attractive quality I give off. And unfortunately in my case it does have a habit of making any nearby people, particularly men, very fond of me. When Jack first came to my town, I wanted to know why he was there, but he was shy about telling me. So in my eagerness I sort of gave off a bit of my 'charm' to get what I wanted out of him—an answer." She giggled softly to herself and shook her head. "Trying to charm Jack Skellington…. My influence usually finds at least some foothold in a person—with him though, all of my influence just hit a wall of pure, solid, lovely emotion. I have never been so entirely repelled. He didn't even blink. He cared for you so much that nothing I could say or do mattered. It was so refreshing." She sighed in happiness, smiling more to herself.
Sally raised an eyebrow (trying to control her very pleased smile at this information for the moment). "Refreshing? But why?"
Flora shrugged. "I told you, Sally, I have the same problem Jack does about people having a natural attraction to me because I'm the Queen and because I'm so connected with the forces of love. At the very least, if I really want it, I always get my way with people about issues because of my charm. But not with Jack, not at all. I could just be friends with Jack, and he could like me all on his own without any influence from me." She looked at Sally with a hopeful smile. "I haven't visited other holiday worlds before even though I've known about the holiday forest for some time. But I'm hoping it's not just Jack—I'm hoping my charm will be less effective on many people in the other worlds., especially those who have found their true loves. I'd love to make friends who just like me because they want to and not because I ever made them feel like they had to or because I'm a Queen." Flora's smile fell a little. "Otherwise, all I've got besides Jack are the couples in my world who have already found their true loves…but I don't really spend too much time with any of them. It's a little lonely being a third wheel, and like I said people still get a little intimidated about the whole 'Queen' thing. Queen Cupidity Amora Flora—such an awful mouthful." She laughed a little and rolled her eyes. "It took me centuries to just get them to call me Flora."
Sally just looked at her with an eyebrow raised and a small warm smile growing on her features..
Flora's smile fell a little, and her tone became sincere again. "Sally, I did not mean to cause any problems between you and Jack. Jack seemed very shy about his feelings for you at first—you should talk to him about it, but suffice it to say he lacked confidence that he could express his emotions to you properly. Those candies I gave him, under normal circumstances, would have just opened up his subconscious a little every time he slept until he had finally connected with his truest feelings and the best way to show you his affections and to be a good suitor for you. But I didn't consider how the candies might affect someone who was dead. And I also failed to consider how much Jack's romantic tendencies might be suppressed, and how that fact might affect the potion. I was irresponsible and interfered where I shouldn't have, and I'm to blame for the consequences."
Sally frowned a little. "But you meant well, you were just trying to help. And you didn't cause all the problems, really. Part of it has just been Jack and I having trouble on our own."
Flora smiled a touch sheepishly. "Thank you, Sally. And I know, I suppose what I did might not seem like as big of a mistake as, say, nearly destroying Christmas. But I still contributed to some romantic problems, and I must make things right as best I can. I know you're still upset with Jack for some things, but please keep in mind that everything he did he did out of his own insecurity, shyness, and out of his deep desire to care for you as best he could. That's all I ask…and that perhaps you'll allow me to visit from time to time to talk to Jack? Like I said, I don't have many friends who just like me for me." She looked down a little sheepishly. "And if I start to accidentally charm you right now just to get you to forgive me, I'll see it and I'll stop—but I'm really hoping that won't be the case and that I'm right about things being easier for me with people in other worlds." She smiled eagerly.
Sally considered, and while she felt moved by Flora's words, at the same time she still felt herself having the will to remain cross with her just as easily as she could forgive her and be friends with her. Sally smiled. "I think you are right, Flora. I don't feel charmed at all. But I do feel happy that you talked to me."
Flora's smile beamed again.
Sally let out a sigh and moved a little closer to her. "I understand how you feel about Jack. Jack's always been my dearest and only friend here. I was never able to get out of the lab much, and I'm not very scary…but he always liked me and smiled at me and talked to me. All of the other women fell for the King, but I fell for Jack. But I almost lost him during Christmas…" Sally frowned, looking down, "I was just afraid of almost losing him again. I didn't think holiday worlds would have Queens instead of Kings, but Jack found the one that did and he found you…and he does like different things a lot."
"He only found me because he was so overwhelmed by finding you," Flora assured kindly.
Sally beamed a little.
Then Flora laughed warmly and added, "And, Sally, really—a King for Valentine's Day? Come now, you know how much longer it must have taken Jack to realize his feelings than it took you to realize yours. I'm not saying there aren't men who are very sensitive and emotionally understanding—there are, and quite a few of them live in my world. I'm just saying that a little women's intuition never hurt with love." She winked.
Sally laughed softly and then smiled at Flora with interest. "You really get to be Queen of your own world? It must be fascinating. And I think Valentine Town must be very pretty. Jack brought me some of your roses."
Flora nodded and smiled humbly. "Oh, being Queen does have its perks, I suppose—a lot of creative freedom, for starters. You should come visit me sometime. And yes, Valentine's Town really is beautiful. Do you have chocolate here? Most of our desserts in Valentine Town are made of chocolate—milk chocolate, white chocolate, dark chocolate, swiss chocolate, german chocolate…" She let out a content sigh. "My idea—I adore chocolate. It's my favorite part of our holiday. We even have a lovely relaxation spa that specializes in chocolate treatments—we could spend the day there together if you'd like."
"Oh, I…really?" Sally nodded. "Yes, we have chocolate here sometimes, but…you'd want me to take a trip all by myself just to see you and spend time together." She raised an eyebrow.
Flora nodded in return. "Of course. The holiday leaders are probably going to start seeing each other more frequently now and even having some council meetings—we can't risk another holiday clashing fiasco in the future. But all of the other holiday leaders are Kings." She sighed. "And not that it isn't going to be fun for me locked up with six old coots from time to time trying to make sure I don't charm any of the unattached ones too much, but I wouldn't mind a nice day with another lady friend. Especially one who might be a Queen herself soon enough." Flora smiled more.
Sally blushed and looked down, grinning. "I-I don't know about that…" she mumbled, playing with her hair.
Flora giggled. "Either way, it would be nice to get together. The only other Queen-type I know is Mrs. Clause—Santa's wife. I don't think she goes out much, but we could invite her sometimes too if you'd like. We could even plan a visit to Christmas Town to formally greet her."
"I'd like that," Sally agreed with a nod. She looked to Flora again. "It might be fun to see another world…." She could almost understand Jack's eagerness for travelling now. To have an invitation before her to see an entirely new place, new people, a new culture…she would always come back to Halloween Town as her home, but still how fascinating! And maybe it really was time all of the holidays got to know each other.
"Wonderful!" Flora exclaimed happily. She stood up and clapped her hands together. "Shall we go tell Jack we're friends now then?" She hesitated for a moment. "We are friends now, right, Sally?"
Sally smiled and nodded, standing up too. "Yes. And we can tell him we're friends, Flora. But maybe not just now…" Sally's face became serious. "We're having a problem. We had a very bad person in our town for a while—the one who tried to hurt Santa and me too—and Jack had to destroy him before he did anything worse. But now there's a chance that he might not have been destroyed entirely."
Flora looked at Sally with concern.
"Um…excuse me? Ladies?" Jack Skellington now hesitantly shuffled forward and off of the curtained stage, looking to Sally and Flora. Needless to say, while the Mayor had been setting up some final preparations for the meeting, the trick-or-treaters had taken Jack aside and decided to inform him that his 'other girlfriend' was here.
Sally and Flora glanced back at him.
Flora smiled and little and gave him a small wave. "Hello again, Pumpkin King."
Sally smiled brightly and walked over to him. "Hello, dearest Jack." Then she wrapped her arms around him in a happy hug.
Jack's eye sockets went a little wide and his cheeks blanched a little. "I, um…h-hello." He melted a little into Sally's hug. "Erm…the, uh…oh, the Mayor has everything ready for us to proceed. I was hoping you would join the trick-or-treaters and I on stage, Sally. Oh, you can come too, Flora." Jack finally couldn't help chuckling a little. "Sally…what did I do to earn such a nice hug?"
Sally's squeezed him tightly once more and then pulled back and looked up into his eyes. "You may be able to charm other women, but you've never let yourself be charmed by one until me. That's all." Then she kissed him on his non-existent little nose and moved away from him with a giggle.
Jack just looked confused for a moment and then very shy. "Oh…all right." He smiled at the two girls and raised an eyebrow. "I take it that things are okay now between you two?"
Sally and Flora nodded.
Jack beamed at the news, his eye sockets bright. "Oh, splendid!"
"Jack! Jack? Where's Sally?" The Mayor came waddling down from the stage, his distressed face on again. "We have to open up the curtains in three minutes and start this meeting! I…" He blinked, the living, rosy-fleshed woman in red robes catching his eye as someone clearly unfamiliar and out of place. His worried face returned. "Oh no, someone's not coming here to steal our holiday, are they, Jack? Or did Oogie's boys kidnap her too?" He looked to his king .
Before Jack could respond though, Flora stepped forward, smiling warmly. "Oh, no, of course no one kidnapped me. I've come here willingly and peacefully. Now that your world has become acquainted with the holiday forest, we all thought, um…formal greetings were in order." She held out her hand, eyes flashing prisms just a little. 'Just enough to calm him down…' "My name is…"
"Queen Cupidity Amora FLORA!" a certain Valentine assistant's voice suddenly called out, and then who should stomp into the backstage area of Town Hall but Marigold, her yellow robes a little tattered and cobweb covered, her red chestnut hair slightly mussed, and her blue eyes flashing behind her rosy half moon glasses.
Flora blinked and then turned to her fellow Valentine friend. "Mari?" She smiled. "You actually came all the way here to get me?"
Mari let out a deep, frustrated breath, still glaring over her glasses at the Heart Queen. "You ran off when we have exactly six weeks to pull off our holiday this year! Six Weeks! We are the flagship holiday of each year, we kick things off for all of the other holidays and set the festive tone for the full holiday season, and we especially need this year to be spectacular after the Christmas fiasco, and you just RAN OFF!" She rolled her eyes and started to gesticulate and pace. "Do you have any idea of what I have been through trying to find you? I've crawled through graveyards and pumpkin patches, and I've been touched by spiders and bats, and there's been slime and grime, and I am personally making a significant withdrawal from the treasury when we get back and spending a week at the chocolate spa, and then maybe you can be the one cutting thousands of doilies and sharpening hundreds of arrows and scrambling to choreograph the parade just right!"
Flora approached her, holding her hands up in a soothing gesture. "Marigold, please, calm down. I'm sorry I left, really, but I wasn't planning to stay here much longer, and I had a good reason."
"Matchmaking!" Mari stopped pacing and looked at her. She brought a hand to her temple. "And not even regulated matchmaking! I swear, you leaders, you have a talent for something and you just run with it obsessively or run off in a completely random and dangerous direction with it obsessively. Then you end up leaving all the stressful work to the bureaucrats!" She glanced around and her eyes caught sight of the Mayor. "Oh, please tell me this is Jack's political assistant."
Jack blinked and nodded. "Yes, this is our Mayor. But…"
Marigold came forward and her attention went right to the Mayor. "Marigold, Head Magistrate of Valentine Town." She nodded her head in introduction and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I ask you, does yours do this kind of thing to you—constantly get caught up in his talents and his passions and leave you holding the bag about everything else and does yours even just run off sometimes like your holiday will just somehow magically manage to take care of itself?"
The Mayor had his worried face on, and naturally at this question that worried face remained. "Oh, er…I…" He glanced back and forth between Marigold and Jack in some distress.
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Mayor?"
The Mayor looked at him once more and then looked back to Marigold. And seeing her stern look, suddenly his voice broke into a tone of full of panic and despair! "Oh constantly he does things like that to me, yes! I haven't even been sure of where he's been for the last week! He nearly sent me to a second grave with the Christmas fiasco! And now he's got an Oogie Boogie situation and who knows what else to announce, and I've been trying to keep things together, but the town's been so worried about him ever since Christmas, and we're now almost two months behind in Halloween planning! Do you really understand what that's like?" He moved close, clearly suddenly desperate in his hope that he had finally found a kindred spirit about the politics of holidays (and of wrangling holiday leaders).
Marigold pouted and patted him on the head. "Oh there, there, it's all right." She looked to Jack and Flora. "So help me you two, we are trying to be supportive, but whatever the situation is let's wrap it up so we can all get back to our jobs before this poor man and I go completely crazy trying to make things work all on our own."
The Mayor sighed and put a hand to his temple. He turned back to Jack and waddled closer to him. "Jack, I'm sorry, I know you don't mean to put me through all of this stress, but it does happen and especially lately. I've been trying to keep the town calm and together, and working on my own is scaring me a lot less than usual, but there's so much on everyone's minds that I can't possibly address it all. Everyone wants to know if you're all right, everyone wants to know what you're doing, everyone wants to know what happened to Sally, everyone wants to know how things might change now that there's no Oogie Boogie, everyone wants to know if you're all right about Christmas now, everyone wants to know how the Halloween plans are going." He looked up at the Pumpkin King (who had just been listening this whole time with wide eye sockets). "Jack, I mean it, I really am only an elected official here, and these people need their king—I can't make all of these decisions by myself. Some of them, yes, because I know you're busy, but not all of them."
Jack remained frozen in surprise for a moment longer. But then finally he knelt down and put a hand on the Mayor's shoulder. He looked into his eyes. "Mayor, please do not apologize. Everything you said is absolutely right. It hasn't been fair of me to put so much pressure on you lately to take care of things, and it's been inconsiderate of me not to worry about how all of that responsibility was affecting you." He smiled. "Mayor, you are the best town leader any holiday leader could ask for. And I promise you that I'm not going to leave you alone anymore like I've been doing lately. From now on there'll be regular input and active participation from me. But if I could have a day or two to myself here and there, when the holiday planning isn't at a crucial point, I'd appreciate it." He glanced back at Sally for a moment who was smiling sweetly down at him and the Mayor, and then looked to the Mayor again, smiling a little sheepishly. "I have every confidence in you to look to things on your own in that case. I just need time to think about things besides Halloween sometimes, that's all."
The Mayor let out such a deep sigh and then turned his smiling face back forward. "Jack, of course you can have a day or two to yourself sometimes. As long as you really won't run off anymore or brood alone for weeks at a time, that's more than fair to ask." He cleared his throat. "And I promise to try resolving little things myself from now on so that you don't feel overwhelmed. We're just so glad to have you back and safe, Jack."
Jack nodded. "Thank you, Mayor. I'm glad to be back with all of our citizens and you as well. You're one of my best friends, after all, and I'm so glad we could work out a good arrangement together for handling the town."
The Mayor's happy face practically beamed. "Really, one of your best friends? Well…how very kind of you to say, Jack. Thank you."
Jack stood up and nodded in return, his smile and gaze warm.
Meanwhile, Marigold and Flora had been standing side by side watching the scene. Flora smiled and whispered to her friend. "See, everything here is slowly starting to work out for the best."
Marigold's look and tone went a little dry. "Very nice. You still owe me an apology, you know."
Flora nodded and looked at her with a warm smile. Then she gave her a big hug from the side. "Of course I do. I know, I know, I'm impulsive and whimsical to a fault, and I'm sorry. And you are the best assistant I could ask for. And it would serve me right if the next time I get carried away you didn't go to the trouble of getting me back on track." She pulled back with a smile.
Marigold remained frowning for a moment but then she had to smile. She looked to her Queen. "Apology accepted." She adjusted her glasses. "And incidentally are we almost done here? We can spare a little more time, but then we really need to get back to Valentine Town to keep up with our schedule."
Flora nodded. "Of course. I should just have to stay here a little longer to tie up a few loose matchmaking ends." Her smile picked up on one side. "And I think it might also be nice if I found a way to make things up to you about today."
Marigold raised an eyebrow, looking a touch wary.
"Oh and forgive me, where are my manners?" Suddenly the Mayor approached the two Valentine women. He smiled and bowed to Marigold first. "Magistrate…Marigold, was it? Welcome to our town, it's always nice to have visitors." He looked to Flora and bowed again. "And Queen Flora, to have you here thanks to Jack is an honor." He glanced to the Pumpkin King. "You certainly do attract the ladies, don't you, Jack?"
Jack blinked and looked to Sally in a touch of embarrassment. "Um, I didn't tell him about the…the other thing we wanted to announce besides the bugs, I just told him we'd have one more thing to add after that to everyone. I thought it'd be better as a surprise."
Sally nodded in understanding. "Of course, Jack. First thing's first anyway, and it'll be nice to end on happy news." She moved closer to him.
Flora, meanwhile, just chuckled at the Mayor's presumption. "Oh, no, no, I assure you, Mayor, I am just Jack's friend and I'm here in a strictly professional capacity, and the same goes for Marigold. And we would be happy to assist you with your problem if we can. What does your problem seem to be exactly anyway? Earlier, Sally was telling me something about a bad citizen Jack had defeated…"
Jack sighed and stepped forward. "Oogie Boogie. He was a burlap sack monster filled with bugs. I thought he was gone but some of the bugs seem to be coming back from his lair." He shrugged. "It's very hard for anyone to really 'die' here since we're all dead anyway. It's a bit of an unusual situation. Actually, if you go out on that stage you'll see in the audience everything from someone with an axe in their head to someone with a face they can tear off of themselves to someone whose flesh is constantly melting off of them—I'd brace yourself, it might be a lot to take in for someone who's alive." He shrugged, smiling a little sheepishly.
Both Flora and Marigold just looked back at him in a sort of fascinated perplexity.
Then Flora smiled brightly. "Oh Jack, this is truly a fascinating world you've got here." She clapped her hands together. "You must promise me an invitation for Halloween—an invitation for all of the leaders and their assistants too! I thought my walk over here was fun enough with all those carved pumpkins and the big curly hills and the surreal architecture, but your citizens—now I must meet the rest of them!" She raised an eyebrow at him, and her smile picked up on one side. "Why in the world would you want to steal another holiday, Jack—I know things can get repetitive sometimes, but you clearly have the most exciting holiday of all seven on your hands."
Jack grinned in a touch of pride. "I guess I never thought about it like that." He sighed and then gestured forward. "If you really would like to meet everyone, then please do join us on stage, Flora. And you too, Marigold."
Flora gave a small bow. "Thank you, Jack."
Marigold nodded with a smile. "Thank you. I probably should, at least just to keep an eye on a certain Queen's whereabouts."
Flora nodded. "Excellent! Well, why don't we all get ready to take our places on stage then for the Town Meeting to begin? I've been back here for a little while now talking to Sally, so I'm pretty familiar with the layout. But Mayor, why don't you show Marigold around a little?" And then before her Magistrate could protest, Flora had grabbed her by a fold of her robe and moved her right alongside the Mayor.
"Oh!" The Mayor smiled at Marigold. "Well, of course, I'd be happy to show you around and work out the best place for you to stand on the stage. Right this way, the Mayor gestured forward and then proceeded to waddle back up onto the stage.
Marigold, meanwhile, blushed and gave Flora a chastising look over her shoulder before just sighing and shaking her head and heading after the Mayor. "Thank you, Mayor. That would be very…horrible of you? Is that the word? I'm still trying to pick up the lingo here."
The Mayor nodded. "Oh yes, we love horrible things here." The two reached the stage landing and then disappeared among the back curtains on the stage.
Jack and Sally watched them go.
Then Flora giggled to herself and climbed onto the stage too. "I…think I'll find those three little Halloween children and make sure they're ready and up to their best behavior." She glanced over her shoulder and smiled in a special way at the happy couple. "You two join all of us whenever you're ready." She winked and then departed among the curtains as well.
Jack just looked toward the curtain where everyone had disappeared behind and smiled. "Isn't this nice—everything's working out, and the Mayor even made a new friend."
Sally giggled, hands clasped together in front of herself. "I think they could be quite dear friends actually."
Jack blinked and raised an eyebrow at her.
Sally just sighed and smiled warmly at him. "Silly skeleton man…. My dearest Jack." She took his hand and laced her fingers with his. "Come on, let's go fix Halloween Town together."
Jack smiled warmly back and squeezed her hand too. "Yes, we should probably take care of that now."
They walked slowly toward the stage together.
"You know, when I met Flora, one of my first thoughts was that I hoped you two could be friends," Jack suddenly said quietly, looking forward. "I love that you and I have always been friends, but I never saw you spend much time with the other women around here, and so I thought it would be nice if you could have a female friend to spend time with. I'm very glad you're friends now, and I really do hope you'll spend time together sometimes, with or without me along."
Sally's grin picked up a little on one side, and she couldn't help herself as she added, "Even if that means sometimes I'll be going without you to Valentine Town where all those nice Valentine men are who might like a new, spunky, passionate rag doll girl being presented to them by their Queen?" She glanced at Jack out of the corner of her eye.
Jack looked a little distressed for a moment, to say the least. But he swallowed and replied simply, "You have freedom now, Sally. You can go wherever you want, in Halloween town or out of it, and with whomever you want. And I trust you." He glanced at her. "Though I must admit I do hope you'll be telling any new suitors you find that…that your heart belongs to another." He squeezed her hand a little.
Sally smiled fully and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Of course. Just like how your heart belongs to me. I'm sorry if I was jealous before, Jack. I know you'd never betray me like that, with another woman. I trust you too."
Jack leaned against her a little as they ascended to the stage. He paused them and turned to her, his tone soft and sincere. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth about things from the start, Sally. I've been very scared of losing you. But I feel much better now."
Sally grinned. "I thought the Pumpkin King didn't get scared?"
Jack grinned a little too. "Well, I have to keep up that rumor for the public…but just between you and me, he does get scared sometimes. But only for the sake of the people he cares for most."
They stood on the stage in quiet for a moment alone, looking to each other, still holding hands.
"Sally, when this is over, please come back to the house with me," Jack asked gently and with hope. "Even though we made up, I still have to tell you some things properly. You see, I…I…"
It was very quiet here, still in the back, behind the thick backdrop curtains, all alone. And the atmosphere was so wonderfully dark with only the pales light glinting off of Jack's white skull and Sally's blue skin.
Jack couldn't talk anymore. He could only look into Sally's eyes and tell her with his gaze what he was trying to say. "I…" left him one more time softly.
Sally smiled and trembled. She understood. She felt it too. And he was so beautiful in the near darkness.
Everything was so beautiful…
They came together in a small moment of passion and let themselves kiss like they had on their hill—a moment of perfect intimacy.
Their kiss didn't seem to end for many moments. In fact, it actually seemed to be escalating… Hands holding each other and breaths catching, and forms embracing closer and closer in a gentleness that was building in passion.
"Jack! We're ready for you!" the Mayor's voice suddenly announced from in front of the backdrop curtain.
Jack and Sally blinked and separated. They stood there with wide eyes, breathing heavily.
Jack trembled a little and moved close to Sally. He whispered to her, their foreheads pressed together. "H-Hold that thought…for just a little while longer…please." His voice had deepened on the please—a reaction he couldn't help.
Sally trembled a little too and nodded. "Yes." She blushed at how enthusiastic her whispered reply sounded. "Yes…I will, Jack." She turned from him, feeling so delightfully flustered to the point of wobbling a little on her legs now.
Jack swallowed and took her hand to steady her and lead them both past the backdrop curtain. "Here we are, Mayor." He did his best to smile normally and sound ready as ever. "You can open the front curtain now, and we'll being our meeting!"
The Mayor nodded and, still with his smiling face on, pulled open the front curtain on himself, Jack, Sally, the trick-or-treaters, two strange looking living woman in pink and red and yellow robes, and a bathtub full of bugs.
It was going to be an interesting Town Meeting, to say the least.
A/N:
That's all for now! Thank you for reading! : ) Next time, we head right into the town meeting. The Oogie problem is discussed, other holidays are discussed, and Jack and Sally finally confess their feelings to the town (and the Doctor)…with interesting results. I'll try to post it soon!
Happy Reading!
~Azure129 aka Jenna